John Fassel - Head Coach, titans Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-10 | Full transcript (primary source).
John Fassel, Head Coach of the Titans, addressed the media during a press conference on September 10, 2026, as the team prepared for their season opener. With a roster featuring numerous new players, Fassel discussed the challenges and uncertainties that come with the first week of the NFL season, particularly in terms of special teams preparation.
Transcript
Fassel: You've got a bunch of new faces, a bunch of new guys on your units. I mean, how much, what's it feel like in the week one with the prep work you put in and just kind of wondering how it might go? We've had a lot of new guys that feels like cycle through here the last really week or two. So I think week one, there's a lot of unknown. Even for us still three days away from the game. And also for sure against our opponent cuz on a special team side, there's so much moving in and moving out that it's hard to predict even their lineup and we're a big matchup driven team. So we've learned to embrace the unknown and expect the unexpected, especially in week one on special teams. And it's been an awesome, incredible challenge. Just getting all the new guys up to speed as fast as possible on what we're doing on special teams that come from different places. So we embrace it. We look forward to it and definitely don't fear the unknown. It's more of like an embrace and let's see what happens.
Fassel: Last year, what is your message to him going into this season? Like just keep it up, do the exact same thing? Were there coaching points that you think he could actually get better at? Yeah, I think I've stayed away from saying, do the exact same thing. Because there's always a level of staying on top of the game and adapting to whatever changes. I think the biggest thing that I've hopefully reinforced with him is not trying to force it, not trying to manufacture magic that maybe happened a little bit last year, because I think that's what he was so good at last year. He didn't force anything. He didn't push anything. Obviously, there's a risk element that sometimes you got to take. But I think, more so instead of trying to recreate it, is just let it happen naturally and not force it. Where there's, I think, a little bit of freedom and just, such a high standard last year, how do I achieve that again? I don't know if you do or you don't, but I think just playing the game and trusting his teammates is a big part of, I think, going into year two coming off of last season, which was obviously incredible. But I think that'll be a kind of a healthy mindset for him is, it's a new season and different things are gonna happen and just play the game and not trying to force anything into recreating whatever happened last year.
Fassel: What kind of the games within the game for this week, as far as facing the Jets for Robert Salah, wanting to get off for a fast start. How have you seen Salah be able to just kind of keep the main thing the main thing? Yeah, I think he's done an incredible job of focusing on, he's probably even said it, focusing on the Titans play style, the Titans execution, the Titans performance as it comes to coaches and players. And really week one, I hate to say it, whoever we play against is kind of hard to predict anyway, so the opponent isn't a factor for us. We absolutely respect anybody that we play against, but there is such an unknown element of play callers on the other team, personnel on the other team. We haven't had our special teams offense or defense really play as a whole unit together yet, so it'll be exciting just to see what we can do and not be so concerned about the opponent. But I know with Coach Salah, he's the head coach there, so there is that factor, but that hasn't been talked about or discussed or even concerned about the whole time, which I think has been a great mindset for us this week, it's just our first game, this is the opponent. What do we got to do to compete at our highest level? I think that's been a cool kind of mindset this week.
Fassel: What do you think of the options you've had at Gunner right now? Yeah. How that position's controlled? Yeah, honestly, to this day, this isn't just trying to be like playing high and seek, I think it's still to be determined exactly who's going to be. We have obviously the candidates, there's Mike and there's Marcus and there's Elec, we made a transaction today and he would have been a part of it and then you guys are going to be a part of it. So today is our best opportunity to practice at full speed and paths and so we'll get a lot of information out of today. I feel confident that anybody we put out there is going to do a very good job. Obviously, you want the best we can get out there. Our punter's a big part of feeding the Gunners and contributing to their success. So still today with practicing about an hour, we got everybody getting reps and we're still competing for who's going to be out there Sunday.
Fassel: Joey went through a little mini slump early in camp and then all of a sudden he kind of found his groove after you guys worked some other people out. What do you attribute that groove, get in that good field too? Yeah, so that's a great observation. I feel like sometimes we're too quick to evaluate or judge kickers at the start of training camp. They come off the summer, they've kicked on their own. They haven't had the snapper and holder in operation all summer long. So I've learned to always give the kicker a couple of weeks to get the operation right, get the timing of it, new holder. So I never felt, to be honest with you, that there was a slump. I think it was just working things out after the summer break and it takes a couple of weeks. And obviously, I think when we went into the joint practice against San Francisco, he made them all, then we played against San Francisco, he made them all. The joint practice against Seattle, I think he made them all. So you could just feel like there became a groove as the operation kind of took place and the reps were accumulated. But I've learned for really any position, rookies especially and specialists not be too quick to pass judgment on their performance when we're kind of just getting started.
Fassel: Is there a late point emphasis that affects special teams this year? Anything new that the league has made you aware is going to be a point of emphasis? There's obviously a couple minor rule tweaks, which is we can have a fourth floater on KOR and we could declare on set kick at any time in the game, ahead or behind. I think it's some of the same stuff, sportsmanship has been a big emphasis. Leading with the head has been a big emphasis as a tackler or a blocker or a runner. But I don't think anything super new, as far as inventions or anything like that. But other than the actual kick off return, the on-site kick. Everything else has kind of been the same message I think for the last couple of years targeting. So I think we've discussed all that, protecting the head and neck as tacklers has been a big emphasis on kick off. I think we had, I think there's 30 something concussions last year, which the rate was the same as the year before. So how can we be better blockers and tacklers on the kick off phase of the game to lower the percentage of concussions? There's been a big emphasis just amongst us as special teams coaches. Obviously the health of our players is number one. So that's been an emphasis as a coaching point.
Fassel: Here's so much establishing winning culture for some of the players who've been here the last two, three, four years. What's the psychology of kind of rooting out the losing ways of kind of making them not think that this is the place where all the losing has happened to kind of transition that thing, do you know what I mean? Yeah, absolutely. I think it's a great question and gosh, if it was tangible, it'll be a lot easier to identify and to fix if you need fixing. I got here last year and honestly, I never felt like a losing culture. And I've only been here obviously a year. I know we lost last year a lot more than we won. But I haven't felt a losing culture. I mean, you look at our, there's so much factors in the culture. Obviously winning is a big part of it, but we have three incredible grass fields out here. Our cafeteria staff is incredible. I think those are things that contribute to culture. The resources we have here are fantastic, as good as any place I've been. And I've been in Dallas, and I've been in LA the last two stops. I think obviously new coaching staff and some new players we bring in contribute to that. But I think it's so reaching as far as culture. I almost feel like it's a very popular word. To me, I like to use the word chemistry a little bit more. How can we develop chemistry amongst the group in the meeting room and on the practice field? And then how does that apply to the game field? But yeah, I think it's such a broad question as far as the culture piece that there's so much that goes into it. And I just love to give credit to kind of the underground part of the team and that is our grounds crew, our cafeteria staff, our trainers, the people who help coaches and players with game day tickets and pregame sideline passes. Like I can go into so many things, which I won't. But I feel like we have and we have had here a winning culture. We just haven't won, but I'm excited to be part of where we go next. And hopefully, a culture that feels good can now start to accumulate some wins.
Fassel: Just to dig a little bit more on how you felt when you came here. Sala and some of these new guys have come in and you hear them talk about just how young this team is. Did it feel like a youthful group compared to some of the groups you've had in the past? Is that part of the chemistry thing? I think it's probably part of why it felt good. There's just a big influx of youth. And I think it had to do with a new general manager in Borgonzi and then a turnover in the coaching staff where let's try to do it the right way to draft and develop mindset I love being a part of. And so it does feel like there's a development that needs to happen with all our young players that I think we're going to get out of them. So I think that could be kind of the cultural development part is just getting the very young team up to speed with what it takes to win in the National Football League. And I think we have some fantastic leaders, Jeff Simmons and some guys that we brought in new on defense and the Morgan Cox, Julius Chestnut on the special team. So, in fact, it's a really cool mentorship program that's happening naturally between some of the older guys and a lot of the new guys. And you can fill that in the meeting room in the practice field. I know I'm coach speak and all that, but it's the truth you can feel when the young guys appreciate the old guys giving them information, not hiding information because they're worried about their job being taken and back and forth. So that's what I respect about our players and even our coaching staff right now is kind of the give and take in the mentorship program that feels like it's happening naturally.
Fassel: Morgan Cox elected captain again? No, I'm not surprised. He's amazing. He just, you know, he turned 30 plus 10, you know, about a month ago. And so, you know, five kids got a basketball team. I'm not surprised. And he's had a strenuous five weeks where, you know, he had his child and the strain on the child and the child's health has been good, but it's been a work in progress. So he's had a lot on his plate over these five weeks and I'm super proud of the way he's performed as a professional and performed as a dad because it's been a big pull on him both ways. So, yeah, he's pretty incredible.
Fassel: The 30 concussions, is that just going to kick off? That was just a kick-hit return play. There was somewhat a kick return, yeah. That was, we did a huge study on that. I think out of the 30 something concussions, 20 were by the tackler, you know, 10 happened against the returner and two or three happened by the blocker. So we know where they're coming from and we're just trying to be better tacklers and better blockers. So the returner doesn't get the concussed hits and the tacklers aren't, it's free to run. And when they do, how do we be better tacklers to keep the head out of the game? Because I'm a big believer in that shoulder leverage tackling, which the Seahawks did a great job of 10 years ago, you know, rugby tackling and all that, that we subscribe to and yeah, it's a big part of the game. We got to continue to be good at it so we don't lose that play.
Fassel: Yeah. Thanks. Appreciate it.
