Robert Saleh, Tennessee Titans close to a deal to become next head coach per source

The Tennessee Titans appear to have their next head coach to guide franchise quarterback Cam Ward.

A source tells ESPN's Adam Schefter that the Titans are hiring former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Salah. The same source told Schefter that it expected Saleh to get a five-year deal from the Titans. If the hiring becomes official, Saleh will be the 20th head coach in franchise history.

Saleh comes in replacing Brian Callahan, who was fired in the middle of October. The Titans finished 3-14 but showed improvement at the end of the season, led by Ward, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

This will be Saleh's second run as a head coach. He coached the New York Jets from 2021 to 2024 after a four-year run as the 49ers' defensive coordinator that included a Super Bowl appearance after the 2020 season. The Jets went 20-36 under Saleh. His best season was a 7-10 mark in 2023 that was highlighted by then-newly acquired Aaron Rodgers tearing his Achilles tendon in Week 1. Then Saleh subsequently got fired by the Jets five games into the 2024 campaign. 

Saleh will have some work to do since the Titans haven't made the playoffs in the 2021 season under now Patriots head man Mike Vrabel. 

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