Robert Saleh named Titans coach; offensive coordinator choice will be decisive

Cbssports reports Robert Saleh has been hired as the Tennessee Titans' head coach roughly 15 months after his midseason firing by the New York Jets, a move the outlet framed as an attempt to steady a team that has been slowly sliding. Saleh earned the job on the strength of his work as the San Francisco 49ers' defensive coordinator: despite major injuries (Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and rookie Mykel Williams) the 49ers finished 20th in total defense, 13th in scoring defense and posted the fourth-best goal-to-go defense.

NFL Media's Mike Garafolo says Saleh will call defensive plays for Tennessee, and the club will undergo other changes under his leadership; Saleh went 20-36 with the Jets despite fielding top-five total defenses in three seasons there. Offense, not defense, has been Saleh's historical problem, and Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr wrote that Saleh impressed Tennessee with an "incredibly detailed, comprehensive and team-specific" offensive coordinator plan.

That hire is central because Saleh will be working with young quarterback Cam Ward, who finished the season with clear improvement: Weeks 1-11 versus Weeks 12-18 showed TD-INT improving from 6-6 to 9-1, net yards per attempt from 4.9 to 5.4, completion percentage from 58.4% to 62%, off-target rate from 14.5% to 12.5%, negative play rate from 14.3% to 7.8% and sack-to-pressure rate from 28.7% to 16.1%.

Key Topics

Sports, Robert Saleh, Tennessee Titans, Cam Ward, New York Jets, Offensive Coordinator