If the Tennessee Titans are going to embark on their first winning streak since 2022, they'll have to do it the hard way.
The Titans have run out of time to savor their 31-29 win against the Cleveland Browns. They are making the dreaded trip across the country to California to face the red-hot San Francisco 49ers in Sunday's Week 15 game.
Kyle Shanahan's team has only lost one game since the end of October, and they are currently riding a three-game win streak. During that streak, they have demonstrated that they aren't afraid to crush inferior opponents, as evidenced by back-to-back wins where the opposing offense has scored nine points or fewer.
Titans-49ers Week 15 matchup offers glimpse into potential head coaching candidate
While Shanahan is the head coach, the driving force behind the 49ers' success this season has been their defense and Robert Saleh's return. You might be mistaken in thinking that he is leading a talented defense because of their reputation. They entered the season without former All-Pro safety Taloanoa Hufanga, who left in free agency.
Speaking of missing All-Pros, the team has been without EDGE Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner for months now. They are currently a much less talented defense than the average unit the Titans have seen this season.
That lack of talent has made life harder for Saleh and the 49ers, and it has drastically reduced the number of turnovers and sacks they've produced. Because of their sound scheme and excellent coaching, the 49ers are getting the job done, ranking top-10 in points allowed.
These things are significant because Saleh will almost certainly be a head coach for an NFL team in 2026, and Titans fans should hope that he is heading to Nashville. There will be plenty of time to talk about why his time with the New York Jets is misremembered by most, and it was almost certainly doomed to fail. Instead, focus on the here and now.
Amy Adams Strunk will be at this game watching the Titans, and she just watched her Titans put up 31 points in a win against a defense coached by Jim Schwartz. If Saleh can take his defense (devoid of its superstar talent) and hold the Titans to single-digit points, it will make a huge impression on the decision-maker who is going to have a thumb on the scale in the upcoming head coaching search.
It is fair to ask questions like, "Should ownership interfere in this coaching hire?" or "Do we really want to watch Cam Ward and the offense struggle?" but this isn't an argument for or against any of that. It is simply a statement of fact: if Saleh's defense controls this game and the 49ers dominate the Titans, you can expect that result to be a significant factor in the coaching search this offseason.