While that type of talk resembles the gas-no-brakes mentality he’s well-known for, Saleh said one big change will happen under his tenure in Tennessee: calling a defensive play, which is different from the setup he had in New York.
“When I wasn’t calling plays, I felt like I was the time and the red flag guy,” he said frankly. “I had the best seat in the house as a fan.”
Saleh is tasked with turning around a Titans defense that finished in the bottom half of the NFL in most categories, most notably points allowed per game (28.1, tied for 28th), sacks (14, tied for 29th). His aggressive defensive scheme has a great player to build around in All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons.
But the focus in Nashville is on quarterback Cam Ward, last year’s No. 1 overall pick.
“Cam, from everything I’ve gathered, just all the conversations I’ve had throughout the building and throughout the department, brings an elite work ethic, an elite character and (is) an elite person,” Saleh said. “The biggest thing we’re going to do with Cam is just go all the way back to the beginning. We’ve got a whole season to work with them, take him back to the beginning, both on the field, off the field, the process, what it looks like to not just be a pro in terms of preparation in your body, but as a pro in terms of preparation in your body but as a pro game-in-game.”
Brian Daboll, who was the Giants’ head coach for the majority of Saleh’s tenure in New York, will be tasked with leading the offense and developing the league in Year 2.
Saleh believes Daboll is the “perfect” coach for Ward, citing the coach’s successful past in developing quarterbacks, including Buffalo’s Josh Allen.
“Talking to Dab’s the last few weeks, he’s the perfect guy to look after Cam and to maximize who he is,” Saleh said of his offensive line coach. “So, again, we’re really excited to go work with Cam and get him to where we all know he can be.”
Ward injured his right shoulder in the final game of his rookie campaign and his rehab has been “going well,” according to Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi, who was righty Saleh’s side at the news conference.
Borgonzi has a big offseason ahead of him with plenty of salary cap space and the No. 4 overall pick coming in April, inevitable moves that will help the overall cause. Tennessee’s struggles over the past two seasons include three straight winning campaigns and a major head coaching shakeup after parting ways with Mike Vrabel. The Titans haven’t made the playoffs since 2021, and the last first-year head coach to advance was in 1990 when the Titans were the Houston Oilers.
But Saleh isn’t yet concerned with results on the field at this point, aiming first to build his program from the ground up to set the Titans up for success.
“Obviously every team wants to win the Super Bowl,” Saleh said. “Every team wants to reach the pinnacle of sport, everybody does. But the realistic expectation is that this team understands what a proper process looks like; attacking every moment, attacking every day, finding ways to get better every single day. And I know it’s cliché and boring, but at the end of the day, we have no control over the outcome of football. But what we do have control over is how we go about our day-to-day operations so we can attack Sunday to put us in the best position to achieve the results we want, and whatever that looks like, we’ll leave it at this moment.
Saleh’s newfound vision for a successful club appears to be a process that will be built from the ground up, but the fiery coach insisted it will be an effort that will bring the Titans back to the forefront.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Saleh said, looking at the players in attendance, one of whom was Ward. “We’re going to take it day by day. We’re going to get better.”