Titans Finalize Robert Saleh’s 2026 Coaching Staff
On Thursday of this week, the Titans announced their finalized coaching staff under new head coach Robert Saleh. We had already covered many of the staff changes in previous posts as they were announced, but the release this week provided some previously uncovered updates.
On the offensive side of the ball, the only new info for position coaches saw a slight change in title for Randy Jordan. Originally retained to reprise his role as running backs coach, Jordan will reportedly take on the additional title of Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellowship coordinator.
The release announced the hires of Isaac Williams as assistant offensive line coach and John Rudnicki as offensive assistant. Lastly, offensive assistant Trevor Browder has been retained in the same role. It will be his third season in a full-time position for the team after first joining as a Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellow in 2023.
Williams arrived in the NFL in 2022 after six years of experience at a few small colleges. He’s served as the assistant offensive line coach for the Steelers for the past four years and will now assist new offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo in attempting to turn around a line that desperately needs improvement to protect quarterback Cam Ward.
Rudnicki will be making his NFL coaching debut as he makes his way up from the collegiate ranks. He started as an undergraduate student assistant coach working with the offensive line at Alabama before doing the same as a graduate assistant at South Alabama. He’s spent the past three years at South Carolina with two years as a graduate assistant before serving last year as an offensive assistant working with running backs.
On the defensive side of the ball, the release announced a couple of new hires in linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi and defensive backs/nickels coach Dalton Hilliard. We also got information that Ben Bloom and Travis Smith have been retained under new titles. Previously the team’s outside linebackers coach, Bloom has been retained as a senior defensive assistant, and previously the Titans’ defensive run game coordinator, Smith has been retained as senior defensive assistant/pass rush specialist. Lastly, previously reported with the title of defensive quality control coach, Ahmed Saleh, the head coach’s cousin, will instead hold the title of defensive assistant.
Borgonzi finds a home after not being retained in Dallas. He boasts 15 years of NFL coaching experience including eight years as a linebackers coach — four with the Colts, three with the Bears, and one with the Cowboys. According to Titans insider Paul Kuharsky, Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi removed himself from the hiring process in regard to his brother.
Hilliard will be making his NFL coaching debut after 11 years in the collegiate ranks. He held roles at his alma mater, UCLA, Tennessee-Martin, and Arkansas State before being named secondary coach at UConn in 2022 and adding passing game coordinator to his title in 2024. He joined Colorado State in December as pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach but will spurn the Rams for the NFL.
Lastly, it was announced that Rob Dadona would be hired as chief of staff. Dadona most recently held the role of manager of coaching operations with the Falcons. He’ll be reuniting with Saleh after working with him during his tenure in New York. Dadona started his NFL career as a football operations assistant in 2019 and was promoted to assistant to the head coach when Saleh took over in 2021.
AFC Coaching Updates: Ravens, Chargers, Murray, Titans, Colts
New Ravens head coach Jesse Minter continues to build his first staff as a head coach in Baltimore. His newest hires will be overseeing a receiving corps that’s set to return Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and Devontez Walker. Per Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, Keary Colbert is expected to be hired as wide receivers coach and Prentice Gill is expected to be promoted to assistant wide receivers coach.
A former NFL wide receiver, Colbert turned to coaching immediately following the end of his playing career. He worked through a circuit of collegiate jobs, spending time at Georgia State, USC, Alabama, and Florida. He made the jump to the NFL in 2023 and has worked the past three years as the Broncos wide receivers coach, starting with a Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton tandem before losing Jeudy and getting the most out of role players like Marvin Mims, Devaughn Vele, Troy Franklin, and Pat Bryant.
Two years ago, Gill worked as an offensive analyst for Baltimore. He spent this past season as a coaching fellow and has finally been rewarded with a role as a position coach. Per Zenitz, he also has experience working with Colbert from when both were at USC.
After promoting Anthony Levine to special teams coordinator earlier today, the Ravens are expected to hire Ben Kotwica as a senior assistant on special teams, as well, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Alongside long-time senior assistant Randy Brown, Kotwica will provide experienced support behind Levine after having worked as a coordinator in New York, Washington, Atlanta, and Denver as well as an interim coordinator with the Rams last year.
Here are a few other coaching staff updates from around the AFC:
- With the Chargers bringing former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel in as their new offensive coordinator, a few other offensive staffers appear to be tagging along from Miami. According to Zenitz, former Dolphins run game specialist Chandler Henley is expected to be on McDaniel’s new staff in Los Angeles, though an expected title has not been reported. There’s a chance he could be stepping into a role similar to that of run game coordinator/tight ends coach Andy Bischoff, who Zenitz reports is expected to part ways with the team. Additionally, the Chargers are expected to hire Julian Campenni to a role as assistant defensive line coach, per Zenitz. Campenni most recently worked as the outside linebackers coach at Rutgers.
- Zenitz was the first to report that former NFL running back DeMarco Murray had emerged as a person-of-interest for the running backs job in Kansas City, but it was NFL insider Jordan Schultz who first reported that the Chiefs are hiring Murray for the job. Murray started coaching as the running backs coach at Arkansas in 2019 and has held the same role at Oklahoma for the past six years. He’ll follow in the footsteps of former NFL running back Eric Bieniemy and officially join the Andy Reid coaching tree.
- After losing Charlie Partridge to Notre Dame just after New Year’s, the Colts have finally found his replacement. According to Zenitz, Indianapolis is expected to hire Marion Hobby as their new defensive line coach. A former college coach who saw a seven-year run as an NFL defensive line coach with stops at Jacksonville, Miami, and Cincinnati, Hobby spent the 2025 season as a defensive analyst at Tennessee and had recently accepted the defensive line coach position at Arkansas. If the expected hire goes through, it appears he will be spurning the Razorbacks for a chance to return to the NFL.
- Lastly, Zenitz reports that Titans head coach Robert Saleh is hiring his cousin, Ahmed Saleh, to Tennessee’s staff for 2026. Saleh most recently worked as the linebackers coach/special teams coordinator at Wayne State, and per Titans Insider Paul Kuharsky, he will serve as a defensive quality control coach with the Titans.