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Turron Davenport
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — New Tennessee Titans coach Robert Saleh experienced a lot of success as a defensive coordinator working alongside San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, one of the NFL’s best offensive minds.
The 49ers made a Super Bowl appearance in the 2019 season with Saleh and Shanahan leading the way before Saleh landed his first NFL head coaching position.
Ultimately, Saleh’s tenure with the New York Jets ended with a 20-36 record, but that wasn’t because his defense wasn’t good. The Jets ranked fourth in total yards allowed in 2022 and third in 2023. Saleh was fired in Year 4 after a 2-3 start, but even then, New York led the league with the fewest passing yards allowed per game (136.6).
Now, in Saleh’s second opportunity as head coach, he’s looking to find similar success to his 49ers days, and he’s hoping that former New York Giants coach Brian Daboll can orchestrate the offense while he manages the defense.
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After accepting the Titans job last week, Saleh hired Daboll on Tuesday and believes he is the ideal person to help Cam Ward develop into a franchise quarterback.
«[Daboll] has had a history of developing young quarterbacks in this league and college, and the different stops that he’s had,» Saleh said. «He has a tremendous amount of experience with tremendous quarterbacks all over.»
The quarterbacks Daboll has worked with include Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Josh Allen and, most recently, Jaxson Dart. Daboll also coached Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa in 2017, his lone season at Alabama.
Ward, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, passed for 3,169 yards last season, the most by a rookie in franchise history. He finished the season having thrown 10 of his 15 touchdowns and only one of his seven interceptions after the Titans’ Week 10 bye week. Saleh is relying on Daboll to keep the momentum going.
As the Jets coach, Saleh had a 1-2 record against Daboll, with both losses coming when Daboll was the Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator. Saleh’s lone win against Daboll came when he was with the Giants. Having coached against Daboll, Saleh is well aware of how tough Daboll’s offense is to stop.
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«I can tell you that he’s always going to strain you with both [the] run and pass,» Saleh said. «He’s going to find the run-pass conflicts within your scheme. Then he’s going to attack the s— out of it. He’s special in that regard. He’s a problem.»
The Titans ranked 30th out of 32 teams in passing yards (166.1 per game), rushing yards (93.5) and points (16.7) last season. They also ranked 31st in total yards (259.6).
Saleh is hoping Daboll can change that.
Daboll’s time under Bill Belichick and Charlie Weis with the New England Patriots helped him learn the Erhardt-Perkins (EP) system, which employs a concept-based passing scheme and runs to set up the pass.
Daboll has also included play-action, with vertical pass concepts, in his modified version of the scheme, all of which match Ward’s skill set. The Giants were fourth in the NFL in using RPOs at a 12.6% rate last year under Daboll. Ward’s success using RPO plays at Miami helped him become one of the best college quarterbacks.
Ward’s development goes beyond just the scheme. During his season-ending news conference, Ward expressed a desire to work on his mechanics. Unfortunately for Ward, though, he’ll have to rehab his right shoulder first after suffering an AC joint sprain while diving for a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the season finale.
Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi gave an update on Ward’s injury during Saleh’s news conference, stating that the injury won’t require surgery.
«I will say that he is currently rehabbing,» Borgonzi said. «I don’t want to give a specific timetable for when he’s going to be back, but he’s doing well.»
Ward, who was in attendance with several of his teammates at Saleh’s introductory news conference, said the injury won’t impact when he starts working on his mechanics.
«It doesn’t push it back at all,» Ward said. «I’m working on my base on my mechanics. I’m not throwing or changing my throwing motion. So, the timetable for what I have set to get to mechanically what I need to do is still on schedule.»
