Let's get ahead of this: Robert Saleh's almost certainly is not going to give the New York Jets bulletin board material.
As the calendar turned to September, Saleh and the Tennessee Titans turned their
sights to the first game week of his tenure. That game ― perhaps coincidentally and maybe not, knowing the NFL schedule makers' sense of humor ― comes against the Jets, the same franchise that fired Saleh after three-plus seasons in charge midway through the 2024 season.
Ahead of that game, coming up on Sept. 13, Saleh isn't feeding the fire.
"I’ve said it before. I don’t BS when I say it: New York is still a special place," Saleh told reporters on Sept. 1. "It gave me my first opportunity as a head coach. Our desire to win Week 1 is because it’s Week 1 and nothing more. I’m forever grateful for all the opportunity they gave. I don’t hold grudges."
Saleh continued to point out several of the players he coached in New York who are still wearing Jets green and who he's been thrilled to see emerge as impressive NFL talents. Starting with wide receiver Garrett Wilson, Saleh ran through everyone from running backs Breece Hall, Isaiah Davis and Braelon Allen to offensive tackle Olu Fashanu to tight end Jeremy Ruckert and defensive end Will McDonald IV. He says there are plenty of new faces on coach Aaron Glenn's defense who are respected league-wide, and he said he feels the Jets are flying "under-the-radar" heading into the season.
An NFL coach complimenting his upcoming opponent is hardly a surprise. And get used to this sort of measured rhetoric, because the Titans have plenty of high-profile reunions in the first month of the season. The Titans are heading to East Rutherford, New Jersey in Week 3 to face the New York Giants, sending Saleh back to the home stadium he coached in with the Jets and pitting offensive coordinator Brian Daboll against the squad that fired him in 2025. That's also where they will face former coach Brian Callahan, now the Giants quarterbacks coach. One week later, the Titans travel to Baltimore to face off against running back Derrick Henry, arguably the best player in franchise history, for the first time.
The past is the past, and nothing Saleh says in the coming days will reverse how his Jets tenure went.
It ended badly.
Now Saleh has a second chance.
"There’s things that we did in New York that I feel really good about that I felt were the right things to do," Saleh said. "There’s things that we did where it wasn’t so good. You take those learning experiences. You try to apply it to this opportunity. And look, we’re still going to make mistakes. No one bats 1.000. But I’m grateful for the opportunity."
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 talks grudges, opportunities as Titans prepare for New York Jets
