Feb. 13, 2026, 9:27 p.m. ET

The Tennessee Titans and Robert Saleh have come under scrutiny for some recent coaching staff additions, mainly Ahmed Saleh and Dave Borgonzi.

Saleh did bring his cousin, Ahmed, into the organization in a low-level position as a defensive quality control assistant, but is that truly a nepotism hire? At first glance, his resume as a linebackers coach/special teams coordinator at Wayne State and coaching stints at Colorado State, Madonna University, and Northern Michigan may not scream NFL, but if you peel back a layer and look past the names, there are some other connections to the league. 

Ahmed Saleh is a two-time Bill Walsh Coaching Fellow with the Green Bay Packers (2024) and the San Francisco 49ers (2021), providing a designed pathway to an NFL position for potential coaching candidates, which is controlled by the NFL, not individual franchises. Yes, you could make the argument that his relationship with Robert Saleh helped, but is there any way to determine whether or not that connection played a significant factor? Probably not. 

Then there is the addition of Dave Borgonzi as linebackers coach. Yes, he is the brother of general manager Mike Borgonzi, but is that why he was brought in? Probably not. Dave Borgonzi is an experienced and well-respected linebacker coach and has received strong reviews from former coaching colleagues and players.

On top of that, there is familiarity with the new defensive line coach and run-game coordinator, Aaron Whitecotton. The two coached together with the Dallas Cowboys in 2025, and they will have some chemistry as they kick off offseason work, a key component to turning around a defense that at times struggled to stop the run. 

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.

Borgonzi brings over 15 years of NFL coaching experience to the organization and was arguably one of the top linebackers coaches available in this coaching cycle. If John Doe brought that type of experience to the team, the celebration of another experienced coach would be a cause for celebration on social media, not calls of bias. So again, did his last name or bloodline really matter? Possibly, but did it truly play a role in his hiring? Probably not.

I’m sure people will scream nepotism, and that’s fine, but before the team takes the field for the first workout is a bit extreme. The real test of whether it is truly nepotism will come if their units struggle and the organization refuses to move on to a better candidate.  

Until then, the names shouldn’t matter, and the focus should be on future expectations for the Titans and whether they are better positioned today than they were in December. After all, according to some of the same voices screaming nepotism, Brian Callahan’s hiring of his father, Bill Callahan, to be the offensive line savior, wasn’t viewed as nepotism; it was viewed as a home run.Â