NFL News OT: Titans hiring Robert Saleh for their head coach

JoeSixPat · Jan 20, 2026

Pape said:
he is a free agent coach, is he not? think he gets serious consideration while that lawsuit is hanging over the head of the NFL? Not sure I would want the spectre of that around... but i guess he has an interview with the steelers for the HC position, so maybe it isn't the bugaboo i think it is...

Yeah - but in fairness if I'm the Steelers and its between McCarthy and Flores at a time when the franchise will have a new QB and desperately needs some proven playoff coaching experience, Flores is not going to get that job either.

farn · Jan 20, 2026

I like Vrabel

Pape · Jan 20, 2026

JoeSixPat said:
Yeah - but in fairness if I'm the Steelers and its between McCarthy and Flores at a time when the franchise will have a new QB and desperately needs some proven playoff coaching experience, Flores is not going to get that job either.

i think you pretty much nailed it Joe...

NFL Mystique · Jan 20, 2026

Steve102 said:
I don't get why guys who are dammed good coordinators take ****ty HC jobs. Titans, Cards, Browns and Jete are just lousy places to go. I get the $$ part, but he was rumored to be the highest paid DC, maybe the highest coordinator on both sides of the ball. It's not like he couldn't feed his family on what he was making.

Being a HC, regardless of money for some, is a dream come true for many coordinators. Maybe he thinks he can turn the ship around and will get recognized for it.

Personally, I think he can be a good HC. Though, the Titans are an absolute mess. Cam Ward is an unknown. Who knows how good he can be. Ownership is terrible.

Bill Lee · Jan 20, 2026

Thelonious said:
He did not fail the Jets. The Jets failed him, as they do everybody: fans, players, coaches. I think he deserves a second chance. He seems like a decent enough guy, and the fad of assuming you need some offensive-minded whiz-kid surfer boy as HC is thankfully over.

To me his downfall as HC of NYJ was that his offense didn't perform.

How much of that is on him, versus how much of that is on the organization, is to me an open question.

It seems I'm willing to lay more of that at his feet than other people do.

At best, we can say that if he did have a better plan than the one that rolled out, he failed to make it happen.

At worst, we can say he let others control his fate.

It did seem to me he often acted as a "CEO coach" and relied a lot on other people to solve problems for him.

The thing is, the key skill of a CEO is to know who to hire, and when/how to intervene when things are going wrong.

Overall, I think he's a good DC but not a good HC.

Also, I'll point out that he sucked at clock management.

IMO his stay in TEN will be mediocre unless he gets extremely lucky with regard to his coaching hires.

Thelonious · Jan 20, 2026

Pape said:
he is a free agent coach, is he not? think he gets serious consideration while that lawsuit is hanging over the head of the NFL? Not sure I would want the spectre of that around... but i guess he has an interview with the steelers for the HC position, so maybe it isn't the bugaboo i think it is...

It's not the lawsuit. It's the fact he's the sort of angry malcontent who would bring the lawsuit. Some team will likely give him a try, I suppose, but I wouldn't. You are what your past acts say you are.

Pape · Jan 20, 2026

Thelonious said:
It's not the lawsuit. It's the fact he's the sort of angry malcontent who would bring the lawsuit. Some team will likely give him a try, I suppose, but I wouldn't. You are what your past acts say you are.

Its not "would bring" at this point Thelonious, it is "did bring" ... afaik, its still ongoing...

Thelonious · Jan 20, 2026

Bill Lee said:
To me his downfall as HC of NYJ was that his offense didn't perform.

How much of that is on him, versus how much of that is on the organization, is to me an open question.

It seems I'm willing to lay more of that at his feet than other people do.

At best, we can say that if he did have a better plan than the one that rolled out, he failed to make it happen.

At worst, we can say he let others control his fate.

It did seem to me he often acted as a "CEO coach" and relied a lot on other people to solve problems for him.

The thing is, the key skill of a CEO is to know who to hire, and when/how to intervene when things are going wrong.

Overall, I think he's a good DC but not a good HC.

Also, I'll point out that he sucked at clock management.

IMO his stay in TEN will be mediocre unless he gets extremely lucky with regard to his coaching hires.

I think you might well be right in your concerns. I just think that given the array of options and the large number of teams looking for a HC, somebody was bound to give him a try and that in the circumstances, that's not a a crazy thing to do.

Pape · Jan 20, 2026

Bill Lee said:
To me his downfall as HC of NYJ was that his offense didn't perform.

How much of that is on him, versus how much of that is on the organization, is to me an open question.

It seems I'm willing to lay more of that at his feet than other people do.

At best, we can say that if he did have a better plan than the one that rolled out, he failed to make it happen.

At worst, we can say he let others control his fate.

It did seem to me he often acted as a "CEO coach" and relied a lot on other people to solve problems for him.

The thing is, the key skill of a CEO is to know who to hire, and when/how to intervene when things are going wrong.

Overall, I think he's a good DC but not a good HC.

Also, I'll point out that he sucked at clock management.

IMO his stay in TEN will be mediocre unless he gets extremely lucky with regard to his coaching hires.

who should he looking at for OC?

someone from SF? or maybe a Mike McDaniel type?

Thelonious · Jan 20, 2026

Pape said:
Its not "would bring" at this point Thelonious, it is "did bring" ... afaik, its still ongoing...

He did such a thing because he is (and was) the type of guy who would do such a thing.

Pretty cool. We hardly ever talk about grammar around here.

Pape · Jan 20, 2026

Thelonious said:
He did such a thing because he is (and was) the type of guy who would do such a thing.

Pretty cool. We hardly ever talk about grammar around here.

yo, i ain't gots me no grammer up in here, you diggin' that rizz, son of Shakespeare?

Bill Lee · Jan 20, 2026

Thelonious said:
I think you might well be right in your concerns. I just think that given the array of options and the large number of teams looking for a HC, somebody was bound to give him a try and that in the circumstances, that's not a a crazy thing to do.

Indeed, not crazy. Saleh is a defense-first guy and overall TEN has a lot of talent on defense, He's also a rah-rah culture guy, and that seems to fit in well down there. I'd love to know what his plans are with regard to hiring an OC.

Pape said:
who should he looking at for OC?

someone from SF? or maybe a Mike McDaniel type?

He brought Mike Lefleur with him from SF to NYJ. IMO Lefleur could never really change his complex Shanahan scheme enough to suit Zach Wilson, which may have been an impossible task. He could also not find someone to develop who could step in for Wilson.

Problem is, Cam Ward is also young, inconsistent and prone to breaking down under pressure so just like Wilson what he needs is a QB-friendly coach that can develop him, rather than a boy-genius play caller type.

Not really sure who is available that fits this bill, and even if one was available, if Saleh would chose that guy. I think Saleh might make the same mistake all over again, hire an OC who draws up cool plays that his QB can't execute.

TommyD4207 · Jan 20, 2026

farn said:
I like Vrabel

Bill Lee · Jan 21, 2026

farn said:
I like Vrabel

I'm reading one reason why TEN hired Saleh almost instantly was because they loved the toughness he projects.

Seems like they had that with Vrabel and just threw it all away.

Thanks, TEN!

mike_usagisan · Jan 21, 2026

Bill Lee said:
I'm reading one reason why TEN hired Saleh almost instantly was because they loved the toughness he projects.

Seems like they had that with Vrabel and just threw it all away.

Thanks, TEN!

Tennessee is going to be regretting how that went down for a long, long time.

upstater1 · Jan 30, 2026

Oooof, this doesn't sound promising:

Saleh equates not calling plays to sitting around and doing nothing?

Oh my god, that's not what Head Coaching is...

I'm not saying HCs shouldn't call plays -- Andy Reid is a master -- but my lord, the HCs that DON'T call plays are NOT just figureheads.

mike_usagisan · Jan 30, 2026

upstater1 said:
Oooof, this doesn't sound promising:

Saleh equates not calling plays to sitting around and doing nothing?

Oh my god, that's not what Head Coaching is...

I'm not saying HCs shouldn't call plays -- Andy Reid is a master -- but my lord, the HCs that DON'T call plays are NOT just figureheads.

He must be talking defense, right? There's no way Daboll goes there and lets this guy call the offense.

upstater1 · Jan 30, 2026

mike_usagisan said:
He must be talking defense, right? There's no way Daboll goes there and lets this guy call the offense.

Yes, defense. It doesn't bothered me that he wants to call the defense. I was just noting his comment about head coaches.

jdlboot14 · Jan 30, 2026

Pretty interesting that the 2 Head Coaches that failed simultaneously in NY, are teamed up together in Nashville.
I'm sure they'll improve - but I'm not sure at all about Ward. Everyone seems so confident that he's good. We'll see.

mike_usagisan · Jan 30, 2026

jdlboot14 said:
Pretty interesting that the 2 Head Coaches that failed simultaneously in NY, are teamed up together in Nashville.
I'm sure they'll improve - but I'm not sure at all about Ward. Everyone seems so confident that he's good. We'll see.

I'm not sure they'll improve. Colts are good, Jaguars are good and Texans have a great defense. That's going to be a tough division to win in when you're already struggling with bad ownership.

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