Robert Saleh’s second stint as an NFL head coach will feature one significant difference from his time with the Jets.
Saleh did not call defensive plays during his three-plus years as the Jets’ head coach and he said at a press conference on Thursday that he will be making those calls for the Titans. Saleh said he felt like the “timeout, red card” guy when he was not calling plays during a game and explained why he’s more comfortable taking on that responsibility.
“Calling plays, for me, is not necessarily about control, but it’s about connecting with the players,” Saleh said. “When you are a play caller and you are calling plays, you feel the strain you’re putting on them with each call. You’re feeling the connection, you’re feeling what each one is going through. I can feel the weight of the play call on individual players in those moments.”
The Titans will also have a former head coach calling offensive plays in Brian Daboll and the hope is that the pairing leads to a lot more winning than either experienced while coaching their home games at MetLife Stadium.
Titans Clips
Among the areas where the Jets fell short during Robert Saleh’s tenure as their head coach was at the quarterback position and Saleh thinks he has the right guy to avoid a similar fate with the Titans.
Saleh hired Brian Daboll as his offensive coordinator this week and Saleh cited Daboll’s “history of developing young quarterbacks in this league and college” as the reason why he wanted him on the staff. The Titans have one of those quarterbacks in 2025 first overall pick Cam Ward.
“He is the perfect man to match up with Cam and maximize who he is,” Saleh said.
Ward threw for 3,169 yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing just under 60 percent of his passes as a rookie. He had eight of those touchdowns and and an interception in Weeks 14-17 and then opened 3-of-3 for 52 yards before getting hurt in Week 18. If all goes according to plan, Daboll’s presence will allow Ward to keep building off of that close to his rookie year.
The Titans have hired Greg Lewis as their new wide receivers coach, according to Jordan Schultz of the Schultz Report.
Lewis spent six seasons with Titans General Manager Mike Borgonzi in Kansas City.
Lewis joins Robert Saleh’s initial staff after three seasons as the Ravens’ wide receivers coach. He also coached the wide receivers with the Eagles (2016) and Chiefs (2017-20).
He was the Chiefs’ running backs coach in 2021-22.
Lewis played eight seasons as a receiver in the NFL.
The Titans are hiring Shea Tierney as their new quarterbacks coach, Mike Garafolo of NFL Media.
Tierney served in the same role on Brian Daboll’s coaching staff with the Giants, working with Daniel Jones, Jaxson Dart, Tommy DeVito and Russell Wilson, among others. His relationship with Daboll actually goes back to 2017 when both were at Alabama.
Tierney also worked with Daboll in Buffalo.
He is now charged with turning Cam Ward into the franchise quarterback the Titans expected him to become when they used the No. 1 overall pick on him last year.
Jordan Raanan of ESPN reports that offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo is also expected to follow Daboll from New York. Bricillo spent the past two seasons as the Giants’ offensive line coach and has also worked in that position for the Patriots and Raiders.
The Titans made the hiring of Brian Daboll official, announcing him as their offensive coordinator on Tuesday.
He joins Robert Saleh’s staff to work with quarterback Cam Ward.
Daboll is entering his 30th year in coaching, his 26th in the NFL.
The former Giants head coach interviewed for head coaching jobs with the Bills and Raiders this hiring cycle.
Daboll served eight total seasons as an NFL offensive coordinator, with the Browns (2009-10), Dolphins (2011), Chiefs (2012) and Bills (2018-21). He was head coach of the Giants from 2022 until they fired him during the 2025 season.
The Giants were 20-40-1 in the regular season and 1-1 in the postseason.
The Titans have reportedly decided on who they want to be their next offensive coordinator, but they may have to switch gears based on what direction the Raiders want to go for their next head coach.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Titans plan to hire former Giants head coach Brian Daboll to run their offense. Daboll had a second interview with the Raiders on Tuesday, however, and any move to join Robert Saleh’s staff is contingent on Daboll failing to get the job in Vegas.
Daboll interviewed with the Titans for the head coaching job before they hired Saleh, so they’ve already heard some of what he has in mind when it comes to developing quarterback Cam Ward in his second NFL season. Daboll and Saleh also likely have some familiarity with one another because they shared a home stadium when Daboll coached the Giants and Saleh coached the Jets.
The Raiders’ timeline for naming a head coach is unclear, but things could move forward Tennessee if they let Daboll know that he won’t be getting the job.
The Titans are hiring Aaron Whitecotton as their new run game coordinator/defensive line coach, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports.
Whitecotton interviewed with the Cowboys for their defensive coordinator opening before they hired Christian Parker.
He rejoins Robert Saleh in Tennessee. The two coaches have spent eight seasons together, including from 2021-24 when Saleh was head coach of the Jets and Whitecotton was the defensive line coach.
They also coached together in San Francisco (2020) and Jacksonville (2014-16).
Whitecotton spent three seasons with the Bills (2017-19), and he most recently spent 2025 as the Cowboys’ defensive line coach.
The Giants have found their new defensive coordinator for their first season with John Harbaugh as head coach.
According to multiple reports, New York has hired Dennard Wilson for the role.
Wilson, 43, served as the Titans’ defensive coordinator for the last two seasons. But before that, he worked under Harbaugh as Baltimore’s defensive backs coach in 2023.
Wilson has also previously worked with the Rams from 2012-2016, the Jets from 2017-2018, and the Eagles from 2021-2022.
The Giants have now hired multiple coordinators, as it was reported earlier on Sunday that the club had brought in Chris Horton as special teams coordinator.
When the Bills fired coach Sean McDermott, he informed his staff that he plans to keep coaching.
If he does, it’s looking like it won’t happen in 2026.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, it’s “likely” that McDermott will take a year off.
There had been no groundswell from the teams that have vacancies, once McDermott entered the fray. Neither the Dolphins nor the Titans pressed pause on their impending hires for a shot at McDermott. And there were no reports of a Harbaugh-style land rush for McDermott.
McDermott, in nine seasons with the Bills, went to the playoffs eight times — including seven in a row. Even if the assessment of Bills owner Terry Pegula regarding the reason for the team hitting the “proverbial playoff wall” was accurate (i.e., that it was coaching and not talent), plenty of the teams looking for coaches have hit the “proverbial can’t-get-to-the-playoffs” wall.
The Cardinals, Raiders, Browns, Titans, and Dolphins are all teams that should love to make it to the playoffs every year, without getting to a Super Bowl.
Of course, McDermott has had access to one of the best quarterbacks in the game. That said, McDermott’s first playoff trip in Buffalo, which ended an 18-year drought for the franchise, happened with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback.
It’s still better for McDermott to wait than to take a bad job. And, like every year, most of the jobs are open not because the team is a juggernaut.
The Titans have several offensive coordinator interviews on the way.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that former Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich are set to interview for the position on Monday. Longtime Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky reports that former Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Thad Lewis is also interviewing on Monday.
Kingsbury had some head coaching interviews after parting ways with Washington, but an offensive coordinator position seems likely. A report this week indicated that Broncos quarterbacks coach Davis Webb could hire Kingsbury in that role if Webb lands a head coaching job.
Stenavich has been the Packers’ offensive coordinator since 2022, but would have a chance to call plays on Robert Saleh’s staff. Lewis was on Tampa’s staff since 2020 and in the quarterback coach role for the last three seasons.
