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Is Robert Saleh's Tennessee Titans more patience or win now?
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- Is Robert Saleh's Tennessee Titans more patience or win now?
At no point during Robert Saleh's introductory press conference on Jan. 29 did the new Tennessee Titans coach evoke "patience," that dreaded P-word that was the inescapable theme of the 2025 offseason .
He did walk up pretty close to that line, however.
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"Obviously, every team wants to win a Super Bowl. Every team wants to achieve the pinnacle of sports. Everybody does," Saleh said when asked what he believes a successful first season in Nashville would look like. "But the realistic expectation is that this team understands what proper process is. Attacking every moment. Attacking every day. Finding ways to get better every single day.
"I know that's kind of cliche and kind of boring, but at the end of the day we don't have control over the result of a football game. It's an oblong football and you don't know how it's going to bounce. What we have control over is the way we attack our moments, the way we attack our day-to-day operation, the way we build confidence in our preparation so we can attack the heck out of Sunday to put ourselves in the best position to get the result we want."
That's right, it's time for another offseason of culture building. Saleh's view of success is establishing a standard. Speaking directly to the dozen Titans players in the room for the introduction and indirectly to those who couldn't attend, Saleh made the case for his brand of leadership.
GM Mike Borgonzi did too. In his opening statements, Borgonzi said the qualities the Titans were looking for in their coaching search were: leadership in the form of culture building, leadership in the form of high football IQ, leadership in the form of holding people accountable, leadership in the form of vision, leadership in the form of attention to detail and leadership in the forms of passion for and commitment to the job.
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If that sounds like a familiar archetype, try this:: Which of the following quotes is from Saleh's introductory press conference, and which is from New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel's press conference on Jan. 27?
"I think they want to know that you care more about them than just their jersey number. And I think that's very important with regards to connecting with these guys and understanding who they are, what makes them tic, and how to help them achieve their goals, not just on the field, but off the field. And I think that takes a lot of work that's beyond the film room. So when you talk about my leadership qualities, it is important for us to connect with our guys."
"I think you also have to be authentic. I think they have to see you be upset, be disappointed, be sad, share personal experiences. Again, I talk about how much time we spend together. So, I think it just goes all the way back to when ― they don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. So, whatever we can do to try to help them off the field, grow as men."
Not a lot of space between the two philosophies, eh? Saleh's rhetoric about relating to players, about building trust with players and about forging meaningful relationships with players isn't a carbon copy of Vrabel's. While Saleh admits he coaches like a proud parent cheering the best out of his sons, Vrabel's never been one to give off the vibe that he's going to hang a player's report card on the fridge. But the emphasis ends up being the same: relationships matter, and without them there's no foundation upon which to develop a great team.
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(For what it's worth, Saleh's quote is the first one. Vrabel's is second.)
Saleh doesn't inherit a strong Titans roster. There's a "young nucleus" as Saleh calls it. But he's about to coach a team that needs to bring in a full room worth of cornerbacks, a full room worth of edge rushers, multiple starting receivers and as many other enhancements as can be fit into one draft and free agency cycle. Setting the expectations short of the Super Bowl is plenty reasonable.
But in an organization where controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk fired Vrabel after a 6-11 season, fired former GM Jon Robinson in the middle of a playoff race, fired former GM Ran Carthon after only being given two seasons to figure things out and fired former coach Brian Callahan in even shorter time, setting low expectations is a risk.
Saleh doesn't see it that way.
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"Stuff like that doesn't need to be spoken to me," Saleh said when asked if he was given assurances about having enough time to execute his vision. "People can always say what they want to say. I see better than I hear. What I see is an organization that's going all-in with regards to reframing who they are and building a consistent winner in the NFL. To me, that's good enough."
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com . Follow Nick on X @nicksuss . Subscribe to the Talkin' Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Robert Saleh's Year 1 goal for Titans sounds pretty darn familiar
