Robert

Saleh

Another domino falls in the 2026 coaching carousel as Saleh gets his second crack at head coaching duties, this time with the Titans. Long heralded for his aggressive and unrelenting defensive tendencies, Saleh will look to improve upon his .357 career win rate as a head coach after a tumultuous tenure in New York after peaking at a 7-10 record in 2022 and 2023. He steps into a near full rebuild after the Titans unloaded numerous key pieces at the trade deadline.

Saleh is currently interviewing with the Titans for their head coaching vacancy. If he lives without a deal, he will be on his way to Arizona for a second meeting with the Cardinals on Tuesday. Saleh has made the rounds this coaching cycle, meeting with four different teams to discuss their head-coaching vacancies, with the Cardinals being the first team to put in a second request. The former Jets head coach returned to the Bay Area in 2025 to lead the Niners defense to a 13th-ranked finish in points allowed, and is clearly a valued candidate on the coaching market despite going 20-36 in his first try as a head coach.

Saleh was initially set to meet with the Titans virtually on Sunday, but instead pushed his interview to Monday so he could hold an in-person meeting with the team. His interview comes shortly after the team wrapped things up with former Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, who is believed by some to be the front runner to land the position. Schultz reported earlier that Saleh, Nagy, and Jeff Hafley were believed to be the top three choices for the Titans, who recently saw Hafley get taken off the market by the Dolphins. If there’s any truth to Saleh and Nagy being the Titans’ top options, they’ll likely move quickly to close the deal with their preferred candidate as they look to find the coach best fit to lead the franchise and No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward into the future.

One of the most requested head coaching candidates this coaching cycle, Saleh now adds the Ravens to the list of teams he has officially spoken with regarding their head coaching vacancies. He will follow up his interview with the Ravens with a trip to Tennessee to speak with the Titans about their opening.

The Dolphins have been busy today. They completed an interview with Chargers DC Jesse Minter for the same role just a few hours ago. Saleh, similarly, is scheduled to interview for the Cardinals’ head-coaching vacancy later tonight, after helping the 49ers’ defense navigate their way through an injury-impacted ongoing season.

The 49ers currently list six combined linebackers and defensive linemen on injured reserve, including defensive stars Fred Warner and Nick Bosa. Saleh has helped keep the 49ers’ Super Bowl aspirations intact in his first season back with his old team despite the personnel losses. His successes have earned him head-coaching interview requests with four different teams. Good for him.

He’ll interview Sunday, per Ian Rapoport. Saleh has drawn requests from Miami, Baltimore, and Arizona this offseason. The 49ers DC has done an admirable job holding down the fort this year while missing stars Fred Warner and Nick Bosa for most of the season. For the Titans, he is one of 19 different interviews they’ve conducted so far. They’ll move past the initial round after this one and try to nail down a list of finalists.

It’s the fifth interview request for the former Jets head coach as the 2026 coaching carousel continues trudging on. Saleh has also drawn interest from the Cardinals, Ravens, Falcons, and Titans after interviewing with the Cowboys and Jaguars ahead of the 2025 season. The veteran defensive mastermind coach could be on the move once more this offseason.

Since our last hit on Saleh, he’s picked up interview requests from the Falcons and Titans, so this takes him up to four interview requests in silly season after the Cardinals broke the seal on Tuesday. It’s clear other NFL teams don’t hold him accountable for what happened with the Jets in the ill-fated Aaron Rodgers Era.

It’s the first request for Saleh this year. For a brief shining moment ahead of the firing of Jaguars GM Trent Baalke, Saleh was the favorite there in 2025 after interviewing well. He also interviewed for the Cowboys vacancy in the 2025 offseason. The 49ers have been besieged with defensive injuries in 2025, losing stars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner for most of the season, but have been respectable in spite of that.