Robert Saleh - Head Coach, titans Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-11 | Full transcript (primary source).
Robert Saleh, Head Coach of the Titans, addressed the media during a press conference on September 11, 2026, to discuss team injuries and preparations for the upcoming game. He also highlighted the team's initiative to honor a high school coach in Tennessee, recognizing Mark Williams of Smyrna High School for his recent victory.
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Transcript
Saleh: All right, first off, I'm going to go injuries real quick. So said we'll be out. He did not pass a concussion protocol. Otherwise, everyone's ready to go from a team standpoint.
Saleh: And so we're taking it upon ourselves to elect a high school coach of the week throughout the state of Tennessee. And this week, we're celebrating Mark Williams of Smyrna High School. They just beat Oakland, who was back-to-back defending 6A champs, came back from a 14-point deficit, went for two to win a football game, which I think is awesome. Good job, coach. But best of luck to coach his team. And they got a big one the night against Siegel. But best of luck to you guys.
Saleh: So obviously, you guys have had the week to prepare for him not being available. How have guys kind of responded, and whatnot?
Saleh: For sure. Guys have been great. I've said it, I love our linebacker room. I think we've got five legit starters. Even getting Diabardi back to practice squad, so he'll be elevated. He's in my mind a starting NFL linebacker. So that group has really stepped up, and we'll be fine.
Saleh: I like Anthony a lot. I think Cody's been a tremendous help to him and his growth in terms of understanding the game, the scheme, and how to communicate the defense, and the checks, and all that stuff. But Anthony's going to be an available football player. He's got to get reps. He's got to continue to grow, and looking forward to seeing how he develops in his career.
Saleh: So all our backer spots are interchangeable. We usually say the best communicator will play Mike. But from a skill set standpoint, they've all kind of got to do the same thing. The Mike is a little more limited in what we ask him to do, but a lot more expansive in terms of communication. But the advantage of playing Mike, and for Anthony, you're in the middle of the field all the time. So your range, sideline to sideline, is critical. It's not like a will linebacker might be out to one side of the field, and so the field has got half for him. But speaking for our Mike linebacker, there are subtle differences, but from a skill set standpoint, we need them all to do the same thing.
Saleh: I think it's important. There's always adjustments. I don't know if it's right, Paul, and I'll try to give you the way I kind of look at the way the game works. That first quarter, you've got your first 15 from the offense, and you're feeling it out as a play caller from a defensive standpoint. But even the players are feeling out their opponent a little bit in terms of blocking combination. Some of the words are hearing words. They're feeling certain things. You get to the second quarter, you start kind of getting into a rhythm from a play calling standpoint. You're making subtle adjustments here and there. Players are kind of adjusting to one another, and then you get into the locker room. And you go into the locker room, and everyone thinks this big, magical thing happens. It doesn't. You make some more tweaks and changes. You start really honing in on what the opponent's game plan was. Nothing new is really being created, but offense will come out with a whole new set of first 15. They re-script the third quarter. Players make adjustments on how they want to attack the second half in terms of the certain combinations that they might be getting, the way the defense is playing, the way maybe the second-level defenders are getting up to the line of scrimmage a lot faster than they anticipated from an offensive line standpoint. And so you make all these subtle adjustments, and then you go attack the third quarter. And I've always said, by the time the fourth quarter comes around, everyone's all in. You've got, you've already probably called all your plays on both sides of the ball. You've heard all the checks on both sides of the ball. You know exactly what you're getting from your opponent. And that's where the players come to life, and the players take games over. And that combination of coach and player really, really comes to life in the fourth quarter in terms of just, you're all in. You can't hide from one another. There's no tricking one another. And may the best team win.
Saleh: You know, outside in, you never want to, never really study the organization, if that makes sense, prior to this year. And I know Matt Lefler, who was a very close friend of mine, loved it here. And he was just early communication. Todd Downing was my quarterback coach at the Jets. And I bring Keith Carter over also. So just hearing their love for this place. But when it came down to the interview process, there was a lot of studying that went into it and just trying to ask the right questions to see what type of organization it is, and especially to see what type of owner Miss Amy is. And what I learned is that this is an outstanding organization. And regardless of whatever outside noise or outside perception is, Miss Amy has attacked the heck out of pouring in resources. You guys see it around the building, not only from a rebranding standpoint, but the amount of resources she's poured into the building from a renovation standpoint, the new stadium, the things that she's invested in with regards to the city shoot, she has a big old farm in the house here. Like she is fully invested into the city of Nashville and the state of Tennessee. And just to have her support along with Burke up top. And you can't ask for much more from a coaching staff standpoint or a GM standpoint in terms of just having the ability to do your job to the best of your ability, the owner trusting you to make the right decisions and being judged for those results.
Saleh: Winning cures everything, right? But to me, culture is kind of a played out word in a sense. And I think I've said it up here before. Culture's words are just words. You see some of the stuff we have asking about. All those are just words. At the end of the day, people make culture. And if I, as an individual, want somebody who plays, and I've said this before, I want an effort guy, someone who plays his tail off and just loves the game of football. But here we are throwing out three or four guys that don't love the game. They're here to just punch check, and they're just lazy as heck. That's not exactly developing a culture. And so the biggest thing in working with Borgonzi is identifying what exactly is a Tennessee Titan. What do we want? What are our non-negotiables and staying true to those, regardless of our own length, regardless of all the intangibles, or not intangibles, but the athletic gifts that a young man might have. If they don't check the box of character that we're looking for, we have to have the discipline to move on. And that's how you develop a culture. And then obviously winning will only cement that culture in place. And that's how the organization and the locker room takes it over.
Saleh: Confidence is real. I mean, you guys know this. The confidence, the belief in yourself. I know Gus got up here and talked about seated out. Like if you have a seated out in your mind before you go attack something, you're not going to attack it 100%. And so you're 100% right. That momentum matters. Confidence matters. And that's why you see teams like sometimes, it's like, damn, where'd that team come from? Well, you win a couple games early, you get a little confidence, and who the heck knows what happens? Or you lose a couple, and then all of a sudden it just snowballs. And like, what the hell happened to that team? They started off so good. And then it just, confidence is such a big deal. And there is no computer formula for that. There never will be. You just got to have a feel and understanding of where your team is and understand. The biggest thing is being able to identify it and do your best to try to pull people out of it.
Saleh: A lot. Obviously, just speaking selfishly for me, everyone's well aware. My brother was in the second tower. He was on the 64th floor, somewhere in there anyway. And when the first building got hit, he booked to the stairs and started running. I think he was on floor 20 when his building got hit. And I think he was about a half mile to a mile away when the buildings collapsed. So his experience, obviously, extremely traumatic. And I always tell people, if I ever wanted to see what my mom looked like, if she lost one of us, that was the day. We didn't hear from him for a while. We were convinced that he was gone. And I've always told people that we're the lucky ones. We're very fortunate. My brother got out safe. We had the opportunity to reflect. And through tragedy, through this country's tragedy, we were able to, speaking for me, find an avenue where, I don't know the word to explain it, but I found my path through tragedy. And I was working at the bank. And through self-reflection, it just allowed me the opportunity to change my path and pursue something that I love. And I've been very fortunate along the way.
Saleh: I think anyone's journey, you're always gonna learn. Obviously, I think I speak for everyone that I'm way different of a human being than I was 25 years ago. And I've learned a lot. I've been influenced by a lot of great men. And women, for that matter, have really helped guide me along the way and changed my perspective on life. And one thing that I've learned is just to have a true, genuine appreciation for everything and everything. We always say it in our house, thank God for everything, both good and bad, because it's there for a reason. And we're fortunate to be where our feet are. But yeah, there's been a lot of growth for sure.
