The Tennessee Titans are hiring former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as their new head coach. Saleh is already working hard on staffing decisions. Offensive and defensive coordinators
Nick Holz and Dennard Wilson have been let go, according to Paul Kuharsky. Tony Oden and John “Bones” Fassel are remaining on staff, per Kuharsky and Turron Davenport.
Saleh will hire new offensive and defensive coordinators. Brian Daboll is reportedly the top target to call the offense, but is also interviewing for the Buffalo Bills‘ head coaching job. National reports have linked Arthur Smith, Kliff Kingsbury, and Bobby Slowik as potential fallback options.
There’s no initial word on Saleh’s defensive coordinator, but he is planning to call plays. That lessens the impact of the DC hire. Think what Holz “did” as Brian Callahan’s OC. There are two defensive coaches who could potentially join Saleh’s staff in Tennessee. They are Marquand Manuel and K.J. Wright.
Manuel spent the 2025 campaign as the New York Giants’ defensive backs coach. The Giants fired Daboll and hired John Harbaugh to be their new head coach. The expectation is that Manuel will be free to pursue opportunities elsewhere.
Manuel spent Saleh’s entire New York Jets tenure (2021-24) on his coaching staff as the safeties coach. The two had previously worked together before that. Saleh and Manuel spent two seasons (2012-13) on the Seattle Seahawks’ coaching staff.
Wright played 11 years in the NFL as a Pro Bowl linebacker. Saleh coached Wright in Seattle where they won Super Bowl XLVIII together. Wright, a Memphis, Tennessee native, joined the 49ers’ coaching staff in 2024 as a defensive quality control coach, meaning he worked under Saleh in 2025.
Is Wright ready to be a linebackers position coach? The Titans have a good one in Frank Bush, though Saleh may prefer to dismiss him like he’s already done with Wilson and Holz. Or Saleh may be willing to retain him, like he did with Bones and Oden. Bush’s fate should be decided soon.
As Saleh continues assembling his staff, Manuel and Wright are fair assumptions to land in Tennessee in some capacity.
