While the 2025-26 NFL season is on the doorstep of wrapping up, it has been a busy offseason for teams eliminated from the postseason. With 10 head coaching spots open in this year’s cycle, there is plenty of turnover happening across the league. DynastyNerds is helping you get a head start on the offseason, putting together team profiles and previews to help you understand how new head coaches will impact your dynasty football rosters.
Make no mistake, hiring Brian Callahan in January of 2024 set the Tennessee Titans back a few years, and this offseason was their first major step forward in trying to correct that mistake. Ruffling a few feathers by bringing in head coach re-tread Robert Saleh, the Titans are hoping to instill a new culture in Nashville, an element that Saleh is more renowned for than his head-coaching record.
Coming with him is Brian Daboll, who was in the running for a few head-coaching roles but ultimately will lead Cam Ward and the TEN offense. While the arrow is pointing up for the Titans, the 2026 NFL season will be a big litmus test for the trajectory of their franchise, especially as they enter the offseason with a rookie QB with a ton of untapped talent and a treasure trove of money to hand out in free agency.
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Cam Ward
Tennessee Titans
2026 Coach Hires: HC Robert Saleh, OC Brian Daboll
2025 Coaches Fired: HC Brian Callahan, OC Nick Holz, DC Dennard Wilson
A 1-5 start last season cut the Callahan tenure abruptly short, as he was only able to earn four wins in his 22 games at the helm. A disastrous hire that was never the right fit for Tennessee, this team limped to a 3-14 record last season, culminating in earning the fourth-overall pick in April’s NFL Draft.
Not everything was bad, however, as Ward showed plenty of glimpses in his rookie campaign. While his group of pass catchers is well below average, Ward was able to showcase his skill set every week, thanks to a heavy dose of throwing the football due to playing from behind so often.
Rookies Elic Ayomanor, Chimere Dike, and tight end Gunnar Helm flashed at times for the TEN offense, but their production was far from impactful in what was a lost year for this roster. Tight end Chig Okonkwo was the team’s leading pass catcher, but only topping out at 560 receiving yards paints a very clear picture of what has to improve.
Coach Background
Saleh’s tenure with the New York Jets will put him under the microscope early and often in Tennessee, as he seemed very ill-equipped as a first-time head coach. Having flamed out after three-plus seasons and a 20-36 record, Saleh landed back on his feet with old friends, having re-taken the defensive coordinator job with the San Francisco 49ers.
It won’t be surprising if Saleh comes out of the gate with a far better approach this time around, as having gone through the wringer in New York certainly showed him everything he needs to improve to lead a franchise. Having a fellow fired HC in Daboll alongside him will take a ton of weight off his shoulders for the offense, as NYJ was inept in that category to the point where he likely had to dedicate too much time to that side of the ball to run the team overall.
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Daboll’s path is an interesting one as well, as his time with the New York Giants started strong but quickly failed to live up to the first-year expectations. After going 9-7-1 and winning a playoff game in his first season with NYG, Daboll only won 11 more games after his debut season, as he was canned 10 games into his fourth year.
One of the better offensive minds available this cycle, Daboll got his first taste of the 2025 rookie QB class with the Giants and Jaxson Dart, and the Ole Miss rookie definitely looked more comfortable as the season progressed. While there are some similarities between both Ward and Dart, Daboll will need to tailor more of a pass-first scheme for Ward, versus the hybrid scheme that encouraged Dart to use his legs.
New Defensive Scheme
Defensively, this team needs help on every level, meaning 2026 will likely be a work in progress. Having veteran anchor Jeffrey Simmons at defensive tackle gives Saleh a much-needed run stuffer, but the other 10 spots will need serious improvements this offseason.
Having revamped the NYJ defense, Saleh will once again get a shot at putting his fingerprints on a team’s defense, as he looks to bring his 4-3 scheme to the AFC South. A big area of need for the Titans that they will likely attack in the NFL Draft is pass rush, as Saleh’s scheme asks for a ton from his pass rushers. Creating wide pass-rush angles in a “Wide 9” attack, the edge rushers for Tennessee will need to hold their weight in the trenches to stop the run and get after the QB consistently.
Kevin Winston Jr Photo by Matthew MaxeyIcon Sportswire
Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. and Texas Tech’s David Bailey will be heavily mocked to the Titans at pick four in April, and for good reason. Saleh needs to add a consistent pass rusher to get after the QB, as his low-pressure scheme forces his pass rush to contain offenses at the line of scrimmage. The backend of the TEN defense needs the most work, though, as the linebackers (outside of Cedric Gray) and all pieces of the secondary need to be improved.
New Offensive Scheme
Working in Daboll’s favor is that he will have full creative control over the offense, especially since Saleh will have his hands full crafting the defense. His top priority needs to be establishing an identity in the passing game, as this current group of pass catchers will not cut it for another season.
Okonkwo will likely search out a top contract with a contender, which would elevate Helm into the TE1 spot. While TE is not necessarily a focal point of Daboll’s scheme, they will need to bring in another option alongside him to round out this position.
Calvin Ridley Photo by Tony DingIcon Sportswire
At receiver, a post-June 1 cut could be in order for Calvin Ridley, as a 31-year-old receiver, even with how desolate the WR room is in Nashville, doesn’t fit the long-term plans for this team. Moving on from Ridley would force the Titans to add WR talent in the offseason, which could mean throwing money at Wan’Dale Robinson (whom Daboll is familiar with), George Pickens, Romeo Doubs, or Alec Pierce, among others.
Daboll’s crutch is 11 personnel, meaning that he prefers a one-RB, one-TE, three-WR formation. If Daboll decides to rely on this for both run and pass situations, the WR group will need to become more feared by opposing defenses. The Tony Pollard-Tyjae Spears combo might not cut it for Daboll in Year One, but the yin and yang of this combination could get by just fine if the plan is to bring in a rookie (Jadarian Price, anyone?) for 2027 duties.
Passing Game Impact
Ward is the key to making Daboll’s offensive scheme work, and that holds true even though he is more of a pocket passer than a dual threat. Daboll and Ward will need to work together to build out a scheme that maximizes Ward’s skillset while building an off-ramp for a group of pass catchers that, even with rookies added, will be behind the eight ball to start the season.
A healthy usage of crossers and mesh concepts will likely dominate Daboll’s early-season scheme for the passing game, creating a stackable route tree that allows Ward to make quick decisions. This will also allow Ayomanor to factor more into the 10-15-yard concepts with deep crossers, while Dike can take on more of the burner/vertical threat to provide this offense with a three-tiered approach in the passing game.
Elic Ayomanor Photo by Kevin LangleyIcon Sportswire
It is easy to see how Ward can be unlocked in a modern scheme, but you may want to slow down just a bit to start. Unless the Titans nail every single possible offseason transaction via the draft and free agency, this offense will likely be of the ground-and-pound variety, pairing well with Saleh’s approach on defense. Playing from behind more often than not will provide Ward with another season of inflated pass attempt numbers, but that might not come until he is more comfortable in the offense, around mid-season.
Running Game Impact
The run game was fighting an uphill battle towards the end of Daboll’s tenure with NYG, as Tracy became his RB1 in a lost season in 2024. The following year saw the addition of Skattebo to the RB room, providing the Giants with a thunder and lightning option. That blend of power and pass-catching abilities helped ease the burden on Dart a bit, and that is the exact kind of structure the Titans currently employ with Pollard and Spears.
Unless Tennessee shocks the world and adds Jeremiyah Love in the first round, the Pollard-Spears combo should survive the first day of the NFL Draft, but don’t be too sure they come out of the three-day event unscathed. As I mentioned previously, adding a fresh option to this room makes too much sense, as Spears is not capable of holding down the top spot, and Pollard’s mileage doesn’t mesh with the direction of this offense.
Tyjae Spears Photo by Mark AlbertiIcon Sportswire
An alternative route could be via free agency, as the likes of Breece Hall and Kenneth Walker III are there for the taking. Could a release of Pollard pave the way for Brian Robinson, who overlapped with Saleh in SF this past season, act as a bridge until a 2026 rookie takes the top spot? There are plenty of possibilities here, and whichever back earns the RB1 role will have solid RB2 value in Daboll’s scheme.
Daboll isn’t necessarily reliant on a hot hand for his RB starter, instead following the traditional setup of relying on the top RB on the depth chart in a bellcow role. The current dichotomy in Tennessee wouldn’t work very well with that mindset, so expect some changes to occur for a position that will be asked to shoulder a heavy load this year.
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🧠 FAQ: Titans Coaching Change and Fantasy Football Impact
What does hiring Robert Saleh mean for the Tennessee Titans in 2026?
A: The Titans are hoping to instill a new culture in Nashville, an element that Saleh is more renowned for than his head-coaching record, while he looks to bring his 4-3 scheme to the AFC South.
What kind of offensive scheme will Brian Daboll run with Cam Ward?
A: Daboll will need to tailor more of a pass-first scheme for Ward, and a healthy usage of crossers and mesh concepts will likely dominate Daboll’s early-season scheme for the passing game.
Which Titans pass catchers could benefit most in Brian Daboll’s offense?
A: Daboll’s crutch is 11 personnel, and this will allow Ayomanor to factor more into the 10-15-yard concepts with deep crossers, while Dike can take on more of the burner/vertical threat to provide this offense with a three-tiered approach in the passing game.
How could the Titans wide receiver room change this offseason?
A: A post-June 1 cut could be in order for Calvin Ridley, and moving on from Ridley would force the Titans to add WR talent in the offseason, which could mean throwing money at Wan’Dale Robinson, George Pickens, Romeo Doubs, or Alec Pierce, among others.
What should fantasy managers expect from the Titans running back situation in 2026?
A: The Pollard-Spears combo should survive the first day of the NFL Draft, but adding a fresh option to this room makes too much sense, and whichever back earns the RB1 role will have solid RB2 value in Daboll’s scheme.
Lifelong Packer fan who has developed a real appreciation for our long line of Hall of Fame QBs. I’m a fantasy football die-hard with a developing love for the dynasty space, and you can find me on Twitter @MJohrendt23.