The Tennessee Titans appear to be in the final stages of their search for a new head coach, and it seems as though they are preparing for a defensive-minded coach. After Brian Callahan failed to get the most out of Cam Ward, it makes sense for Tennessee to pivot back in the other direction.
The Titans are scheduling an in-person interview with San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who is looking for a second chance at building a winner after guiding an injured 49ers defense to an upset playoff victory.
The Titans have all but officially named their three finalists for the head coach job, as Saleh joins Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator (and prohibitive favorite) Matt Nagy and Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as the trio who will likely produce the next main man in Tennessee.
Titans have three head coach finalists after Robert Saleh interview news
Saleh went 20-36 as head coach of the New York Jets, but after starting 34 of those games with Zach Wilson and just five with Aaron Rodgers, the defensive mastermind can claim (with some degree of truth) that he never had the quarterback be needed to guide New York to wins.
Saleh would likely bring some top assistants from San Francisco's vaunted offensive coaching staff with him, but he did the same thing with the Jets, and that didn't have the best results. However, he would provide a spark to a defensive unit that was as dead as dead could be at the end of last season.
Of the three, it seems like Nagy is the frontrunner due to his connections with the front office. Hafley has been named as the most likely candidate to follow ex-Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan to the Miami Dolphins, while Saleh may bide his time and wait for someone with a more established quarterback.
The Titans may not be getting the cream of the proverbial crop with many of the candidates out there, but Tennessee is not viewed as a marquee destination right now. It will be on Saleh, Nagy, or Hafley to come in and change that narrative.