NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Surrounded by his wife and eight children, Robert Saleh beamed for the cameras.
The Tennessee Titans new head coach gets another opportunity to be an NFL head coach.
“It’s going to be fricking fun,” said Saleh. “We’re going to get after it day after day. We’re going to get better. We’re going to bring a championship home.”
In order to do that, Saleh’s Titans have to score more than the 16.7 points per game they tallied last year, en route to a second-straight 3-14 record.
Saleh hired Brian Daboll as his offensive coordinator to try to put the ball in the endzone and develop Cam Ward into the quarterback everyone at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park believes he can be.
“Cam (Ward), from everything that I’ve gathered, just all the discussions I’ve had throughout the building and throughout the league, comes with an elite work ethic, elite character, an elite person. We’ve got a whole offseason to work with him, take him back to the very, very beginning, both on the field, off the field, the process at which—what it looks like to not only be a professional with regards to preparation in his body, but as a professional with regards to preparing from a game-planning standpoint or a playbook standpoint. But, just talking with Dabs (Brian Daboll) over the course of the last few weeks, he is the perfect man to match up with Cam and to maximize who he is.”
Saleh, meanwhile, is eager to prove that his stint as the New York Jets head coach ended prematurely. Saleh was fired five games into his fourth season with the team after amassing a 20-36 record. He vows to be more forthright in his approach with the Titans.
“One thing and it’s such a small thing, I didn’t call plays in New York and I just kind of gave it all to the coordinators, even though we were still part of the game planning and all that. I joke with Borgo (Mike Borgonzi); on game day, when I didn’t call plays, I felt like I was just the timeout-and-red-flag guy. I had the greatest seat in the house as a fan, you know? Calling plays for me, it’s not necessarily about control, but it’s about connecting with the players.”
For Saleh, the connection is everything. The father of eight speaks of leadership as setting standards and holding people accountable. That, he believes, is what helps bring out the best from his players. And what he wants is “speed and violence.”
“They’re going to pop off the tape. You’re going to feel like you’re on the field with them with the energy, the juice, the speed, the violence. You’re going to feel it from the living room. Sitting on your couch, you’ll be able to feel this football team.”
Those are welcome words for a fanbase who haven’t felt the vibes of a winning season since 2021.
“You could feel his leadership as soon as he walked in,” said Titans General Manager Mike Borgonzi about his new head coach.
“Robert has a presence about him, and then he was very thoughtful in everything that he laid out, from the off-season program to training camp, the way he was going to do practices. He’s very in-tuned in the weight room as well, as you can see. He had a plan for everything.”
And now, the Titans are counting on Saleh to execute that plan.
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