Robert Saleh was expected to be choosey with his second head coaching opportunity, but the 49ers’ defensive coordinator has made a decision to dive back in after one season. The Titans are hiring Saleh as their next head coach, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The team has since confirmed the news.
Saleh, 46, impressed the team’s decision-makers during his interview Monday in Tennessee. He was originally scheduled to speak with the team virtually on Sunday, but the two sides pivoted to an in-person meeting that could not take place until the following day due to league hiring rules.
The race appeared to be down to Saleh and Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, who was set for his own in-person interview with the Titans on Tuesday. Nagy was the rumored frontrunner as of Monday afternoon, though Saleh was on the radar as a finalist over the weekend. Saleh won over owner Amy Adams Strunk and general manager Mike Borgonzi to become a head coach for the second time in his career. Saleh had an in-person interview with the Cardinals on Tuesday, but the Titans have convinced him to pass on that meeting.
Borgonzi was leaning toward Nagy, per ESPN’s Turron Davenport, but ownership’s preference for Saleh ultimately (and unsurprisingly) won out. Davenport sent a follow-up tweet clarifying Saleh impressed Borgonzi, who then voiced his support for this hire rather than reuniting with Nagy. Considering Strunk’s recent history with hirings and firings, it will be interesting to learn if Borgonzi was leaning strongly in the direction of hiring his former Chiefs coworker. Both Nagy and Saleh were second-chance candidates. The Titans interviewed or sought to interview 15 such options, prioritizing experience.
Saleh’s first opportunity as a head coach came with the Jets. Like his new job in Tennessee, the New York stint followed a successful run as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator, a position Saleh first held from 2017 to 2020. He was Kyle Shanahan‘s first hire when he took over as San Francisco’s head coach, and the two worked together to turn the league’s bottom-ranked defense into one of its best. By 2019, the transformation was complete, and another strong year in 2020 turned Saleh into one of the hottest head coaching candidates in the 2021 hiring cycle.
The Jets swooped in with a five-year contract, and Saleh moved to New York with the goal of turning the hapless franchise around. But, like several other coaches before him, he could not get the job done with the AFC’s Big Apple franchise. He finished with a 20-36 record before he was fired midway through the 2024 season, his fourth as head coach.
Saleh’s tenure with the Jets was heavily impacted by the team’s inability to land a solid quarterback. General manager Joe Douglas used the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft to select Zach Wilson, but the BYU product never came close to meeting his billing.
New York’s offense, coordinated by fellow ex-Shanahan assistant Mike LaFleur, struggled through two seasons with Wilson as a starter before Douglas pivoted to Aaron Rodgers in 2023. As part of their play for the MVP quarterback, the team mutually agreed to part ways with LaFleur to recruit former Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett immediately after his disastrous year as the Broncos’ head coach. Rodgers tore his Achilles on the fourth Jets offensive play of the 2023 season, and the Jets’ offense collapsed with Wilson back under center.
On defense, however, Saleh was able to replicate his work in San Francisco. The Jets finished 32nd in points and yards allowed in his debut year and fourth in both categories in his second. Another strong year in 2023 was wasted after Rodgers’ injury, and Saleh was then fired after a 2-3 start in 2024. Many saw the decision from owner Woody Johnson as an unfair one, as Douglas had been the driving force between acquiring Wilson and Rodgers. Saleh did not receive a full season with the latter, and his 7-10 showings with Wilson under center have aged pretty well.
Saleh signed on as a consultant with the Packers for the rest of the 2024 season before returning to San Francisco in the offseason to retake his former job. The 49ers’ defense did not have the same statistical results in 2025 as their previous top seasons under Saleh, but he coached his way through injuries to several key players. San Francisco lost All-Pros Nick Bosa and Fred Warner early in the season but still finished 12-5 and stifled the Eagles’ offense in the first round of the playoffs. The 49ers, who also lost first-round defensive end Mykel Williams, finished last in sacks but still ranked 13th in points allowed. Though Saleh’s defense allowed just 281 yards in the divisional round, turnovers from San Francisco’s offense led to a 41-6 victory by the Seahawks.
Saleh will have a chance to shape a franchise that does not have many long-term cornerstones outside of rookie quarterback Cam Ward and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. Tennessee is projected by OverTheCap to have almost $100MM in 2026 cap space and is slated for the fourth pick in April’s draft.
Saleh’s first order of business will be filling his new staff. His long history in the NFL gives him plenty of relationships with other coaches around the league, especially those also branching off of Shanahan’s tree. Saleh will likely prioritize hiring his offensive coordinator, as he is expected to call defensive plays in Tennessee, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz. In New York, he handed that job off to defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, and though the unit excelled, Saleh felt disconnected from the game, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel could be the first name on Saleh’s list of OC candidates. The two worked together in San Francisco, with McDaniel staying one year longer before he took the job in Miami. They could reunite in Tennessee, per SNY’s Connor Hughes, which would create one of the most exciting head coach-coordinator duos in the league.
Saleh and McDaniel worked together for four seasons in San Francisco. The latter is still up for HC jobs and has been tied to a few OC positions as well. He would certainly be a prime option to coach Ward given his success revitalizing Tua Tagovailoa‘s career earlier this decade.
Connected to the Tennessee job since Brian Callahan‘s firing, Nagy suddenly stands on unstable terrain. He coached this season without a contract for 2026, and the Chiefs hired his predecessor — Eric Bieniemy — to replace him as OC today. It had looked like Nagy would land in Nashville for a bit, and a second interview being scheduled only reaffirmed that expectation. Now, Nagy — who returned to Kansas City as quarterbacks coach under Bieniemy in 2022 before replacing him in ’23 — is a coaching free agent.
Strunk has struggled with big-picture decisions in recent years. She famously fired GM Jon Robinson months after extending him and then fired Mike Vrabel following the 2023 season. She refrained from a true attempt to trade Vrabel in order to get in on the 2024 HC market from the jump. Her Callahan hire backfired, with the Titans giving him only 23 games. Strunk also fired GM Ran Carthon after two years, hiring Borgonzi. The latter snared roster control from president of football ops Chad Brinker after the 2025 season and ran the coaching search.
It is rather interesting to see the Titans hire Saleh before meeting with Nagy a second time, but they will head in a defensive direction — as they did with Vrabel — with Saleh becoming Borgonzi’s first hire as a GM.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.
Nagy as OC will be announced
Naw McDaniels likely if he can’t be hc
McDaniels make sense
I think there are too many HC openings for McDaniel to not land one.
This is probably the only right answer for the Titans, or else they have set up another young QB for failure.
Looks like Nagy will be the guy who is left with an empty chair when the Coach Musical Chairs Game stops. Raiders, Here I come!
Nooooo!
Great … a Jets retread. Maybe he learned some lessons and can establish accountability on defense. Get some pass rushers and get more offensive linemen.
This is his scheme to kill Coen. He gets 2 chances to see him now.
Two must-see handshakes a year.
Interesting choice
That’s a wierd hire for sure.
Still better than hiring Nagy as HC.
The very second the Jets let go of Saleh that defense fell off a cliff
It wasn’t his fault that the Jets fired him when they started 2-3 in 2024. Blame has to go to the Aaron Rodgers-led offense.
BTW the Titans host the Jets in Nissan Stadium next autumn.
The very year they let go of Saleh their defense wasnt doing good anyways. Glenn is worse and i like Salehs scheme, but they were on a downward trend with Saleh anyway
Watching too much sportsball TV? Listening to too much talk radio?
Bill Parcells finished his first season 3-12-1. The next year he had the Giants in the playoffs. Two years after that, the Super Bowl.
Think things through instead of going dittohead.
Saleh went 4-13, then 7-10, 7-10, and 2-3 before being fired.
Parcells went 3-12-1, 9-7, 10-6, and 14-2 with a Super Bowl win.
Saleh and Parcells are not remotely comparable. Why even bring Parcells up, aside from the fact that you spend every waking minute thinking about the Giants?
The hate flows through the brain, just like ICE.
I can’t parse that, but I know from reading your posts that we’re on the same side politically. Maybe it’s news to you.
Wow, if Reese and Bain go 2 and 3 in either order, I wonder if that 4th pick could be Downs
Just doesn’t seem like a good move. We’ll see. I liked Saleh to a team with more on offense, and I liked Tennessee with a coach who can establish a system for Ward to see if he can capitalize on his draft status. This will take patience to get going with Saleh, and it’s really easy to make the argument that that Adams is the least patient owner in the league in 2026. I hope that I’m wrong.
I’m honestly surprised he took the job. As a HC, he’s going from one knucklehead owner to another. He must know that Strunk fired Vrabel after three playoff appearances.. And it’s no secret that she won’t let her football people do their jobs even though she knows nothing about the game. Must be a big payday..
Titans fans are about to learn, just as I did as a Jets fan…some guys should just stay as coordinators…especially ones with a 20-36 HC record…and before you said he had no chance with the Jets, go read the article in the athletic that came out after his firing last season…
Too be fair you could put any coach with that dumpster fire of an organization and they’d fail at this point after the year he just had in sf and the limited amount of decent candidates id a 100% take the risk
Of any Jet coach in recent memory, he had the best chance to succeed. How soon we forget when the Jets landed Aaron Rodgers how many people were picking them to go to the playoffs and forget about the season he got hurt; but the following year guess what? They were the worst prepared, worst coached team in all of football. And that’s with a hall of famer at qb. You trust this guy to now take over a team with a QB that has shown some potential and is heading into his second year, a critical year, in his development??? How did Saleh do developing Zach Wilson. It’s easy to say anyone would fail with the jets. It’s one of those things that you don’t know unless you were there watching the games and following the team day to day. Maybe you were but if that’s the case, you just weren’t paying attention. And decent candidates were out there…how about a McDermott…how about McCarthy…much better choices than a guy who was 20-36.
Rodgers tore his achilles four plays into his first Jets season and then was coming back from it his other year. He was also very old and reunited with Nathaniel Hackett, one of the worst play callers in recent memory.
Rodgers threw 24 td in the season coming back from the surgery. And guess what? The year he got hurt, he has to go back to Wilson, a guy they drafted during his tenure as coach. If he didn’t think Wilson was the answer, why didn’t he and Douglas pursue a better backup? He’s a terrible head coach and has no grip of what’s going on outside of the defensive side of the ball. Which btw, his defense with the jets wasn’t very good either. Could never make a big stop when it mattered
Zach Wilson was a kid who should’ve never gone first round. I said after watching one game in college that he very clearly benefited from having great WRs and extremely weak competition.
Yet they drafted him under Salehs regime…
Titans could have had Mike Vrabel. LOL.
Tennessee cast Vrabel and Derrick Henry out after a losing 2023 season. That worked out well for both men, not so much for the Titans.
Zach was the #2 pick, not #3. At the time, I was telling anyone who would listen that the Jets would be better off keeping Sam Darnold and drafting a protector and a weapon for him. I wanted Penei Sewell. They did trade up from that Seattle pick to get AVT, whom I hope they bring back as he recovers, but Joe Douglas fell in love with Wilson and it eventually led to the downfall of JD and Saleh.
So Saleh gets his second chance now. As for the Jets, it may not be a bad thing that Dante Moore committed to return to Oregon.
You cannot argue that Saleh did a good job or showed any promise or qualities of a HC when he was here in NY. They were some of the most undisciplined and unprepared teams I ever remember watching. Now he gets Ward in year 2. That’s bad news for him.
Wilson was so clearly a bad pick but had the hype machine behind him.
And Saleh drafted him…
trick is getting your foot in the door .. and keep getting hired over and over again.. no matter how bad you do
Does anyone proofread these articles before posting them?? Cornerback?
The new Travis Hunter. Cam Ward 2 way player. You heard it here first!!! 🤣
This team has no clue. The owner is inpatient and makes rash decisions instead of trusting the people in her front office…
And now with the #1 pick in the 2027 NFL draft the Tennessee Titans
Saleh is a bad hire for HC. He has the brain of a pea. Terrible move by the Titans.
The man has a degree in Finance. You may not think much of him as a head coach, and maybe you don’t respect the job he’s done as a defensive coordinator, but don’t question his intelligence. Someone could then rightly question yours.
Gotta love these graduates of Wikipedia U.
Yes I’m a proud graduate. People mock it, but everyone uses it.
Imbecilic choice. Who’s next, Daboll?
Wow, I’m surprised he got a job so soon after his bad Jets tenure ended not that long ago. I know the Jets are always a mess, but watching this guy coach, he just did not look like a head coach in this league. Sometimes second time around things are different, but I wouldn’t have dove into him so soon after that failed stint. They had visions of John Harbaugh and ended up with Robert Saleh?
Titans brass planned to travel to Baltimore to interview Harbaugh but he canceled and signed with the Giants (cos Giants were afraid of missing out on their first choice).
ChuckyNJ:
I’m aware of what happened. I’m just saying they originally had hopes that they might get John Harbaugh and in the end they end up with Robert Saleh. That’s a big drop off.
The Jets, now the Titans… He needs to coach both Vegas and Cleveland to complete the Dumpster Fire Grand Slam.
Intriguing hire. Saleh’s always been a very good defensive coach. He showed this year that he can change up his scheme to make the best of dicey talent. With Tennessee he’ll have Simmons and Sweat for sure, which is a great head start on his preferred approach, which is getting home with four. The Jets never quit on him. He was held back by one terrible draft pick at quarterback and then an arranged marriage with Rodgers and Hackett. Ward already looks lightyears better than Wilson. I’ll be curious to see who his OC is–McDaniel? Slowik? I like this hire better than Nagy or McCarthy. Once Stefanski was hired, I just don’t think this is a great cycle for offense-first head coaches.
This makes me want to throw up. I am going to take a break from being a Titans fan. Or stay one and hope for 0-17 and a #1 pick and a new head coach.
Lot of talk about how stupid TN was to let Vrabel go but the guy you see in NE is not the guy he was in TN the last 2 years. As a TN coach he just wanted to be a part of the NE franchise. Which he achieved so congrats Mike. But dont think that TN Vrabel relationship was going to work anymore. A lot of reference to what he once did but guys cant be retained or hired because of what they once did, only what they will be able to do.
So dont think that move was stupid but maybe every single other move in the last 3 years has been. This may take the cake. I could appreciate some DC that maybe has a shot be a successful HC but cant appreciate going for a second try guy who was not good the first time, especially for 2026 and forward TN, where it will be a struggle. Unless McDermott said no, I wont interview with you, cant understand how they make this decision now. This feels like the 24th best HC candidate for TN.
That’s a good hire. If he can get that defensive into the top five, even a mediocre offense will win 9+ games.
A guy that’s 20-36 js s good hire?! In what world?
Hope he pairs himself with a good OC to mold the QB there. Always thought Saleh was a good coach, SF will miss him.
Big difference between being a good defensive coach and a good head coach. If you watched his jets tenure you’d know
Thought they’d go with an offensive minded coach to pair with Ward.
I guess Saleh likes being a head coach for dysfunctional franchises.
Wasting his talent.