Robert Saleh - Head Coach, titans Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-18 | Full transcript (primary source).
Robert Saleh, Head Coach of the Titans, addressed the media during a press conference on September 18, 2026, to provide updates on player injuries and discuss the team's preparations for the upcoming game. The session included insights on player performance and readiness as the Titans continue their season.
Transcript
Saleh: All right, real quick, before I get to injuries, our coach of the week this week is Coach Jason Jarrett of Happy Valley High School out east. He, they just beat their county rivals Hampton 44-16. They had 248 yards of offense, all rushing. I see a ground and pound. But they've won 17 straight regular season games and are currently 4-0. Congratulations to you guys. Hopefully, you guys keep that thing going, man.
Saleh: All right, covering injuries for you guys. So Cordell popped up after practice. He'll be, he's not going to practice today. He's just had some tightness. I don't have any concern for the game, but we'll see how it goes for the rest of the day. Cedric will be full today. James Williams will also continue to be limited. What's said he could really get out of protocol? I think he's, I think he pretty much cleared, right? Yeah, yeah, he's got to be evaluated by the end of the day and then he's done. But he's, I'd be surprised at this point if he doesn't clear.
Reporter: Well, you said you'd be surprised if Cordell didn't go, but how do you feel about supporting him in that situation?
Saleh: I feel good. You know, I think Mike has done a really nice job in pre-season. If he's got to step up in there and do something, I think, and play, got all the utmost confidence in him to be able to do that.
Reporter: How's that been during the course of the week?
Saleh: He's been good. He's in good shape, fresh legs. So it'll be good to get him out there.
Reporter: You could have options, I guess, at linebacker. I guess you had to think about what you were going to do.
Saleh: Yeah, oh, yeah, no, there's a lot of moving parts there. You know, Ced and Cody are both really good football players, both starting NFL linebackers in this league. And they have different skill sets and bring different qualities to the table. But we'll figure it out as we go.
Reporter: What makes it sound like there's a probability of packages?
Saleh: I thought you were going to ask about Anthony. Anthony's starting at Mike. But as far as packages and play time, for sure, there'll be some moving parts there.
Reporter: I'm impressed that you said you did with him from the beginning. And if he's already in a position where he's got your capital to be in here, no matter what happens around him.
Saleh: Yeah, yeah, to Anthony Hill? Right. Yeah, he's done a really nice job. You know, like the biggest issue always for a young linebacker, especially the Mike, is always going to be communication. And it's not necessarily, you know, everyone talks about the green dot. The call in the huddle is the easy part. It's turning around, seeing the formation, getting a close call, making the adjustments, the communication, the checks. But he's in a really fortunate position right now, where he's got Cody next to him. He's got Imani Hooker talking to him in his ear. And you've got Kevin, guys who have been around the league. You've got an experienced D-line who knows how to line themselves up if he's slow to see it. So you know, he's got a lot of people around him to help him in that regard, so he doesn't have to do it alone.
Reporter: You had mentioned Fred Warner, I think it was year two against Arizona. I think you said he felt like, hey, I gave him a little bit too much of CNTD.
Saleh: Oh, yeah. Recalls like that. But you had mentioned him. How much do you kind of weigh that in as you're looking at it and trying to make sure that you've given him enough for that too much?
Saleh: No, that's every player. Every player, you're trying to figure out what their threshold is with regards to the mental capability. You never want to sacrifice your ability to go as fast as they possibly can for the sake of being a guru, if you will. I think that's part of it. Again, everyone's got different philosophies. My philosophy is that you can overcoach a kid to paralyzation, and we try to do our best to make sure we will push the envelope of what they're capable of. And as soon as we cross that line, like I did with Fred, we'll know exactly where that threshold is, and then we just allow them to go play fast from there.
Reporter: What did you see out of him in his first game as an edge rusher?
Saleh: I thought Femi had a really nice game, was really good in a run game, set edges, came off a couple blocks, made a couple tackles, thought he played a very, very clean game. There was a couple things he has to clean up, but for his first time out in this system, Femi's going to make it in the system. His work ethic, his athleticism, his length, like I said, he is raw as a pass rusher, but not the touchdown, but the explosive down to the five yard line. I think if we execute properly in the back end, he probably gets a sack right there. So a lot of promising things from Femi.
Reporter: Do you look at primary tackle and assist tackle any differently? Are they all in one pot, or do you look at those as different stuff?
Saleh: For me, I prefer that we never have a solo tackle. I want 11 hats to the ball swarming as much as we can, but whether it's a solo tackle or an assisted tackle, I just want you, if you're near the ball, you're near the ball. But Anthony had, I think, in the games of 12, but two of them were solo, 10 of them were assists. Is their differentiator there to you?
Saleh: No, he's around the ball, and it just means his teammates are playing their asses off, too.
Reporter: Would you, I guess, make the decision on the extra captain, I guess, would you notify the team that you've already told them? Can you say who they are?
Saleh: I know who they are, but we save it. We save it for after practice.
Reporter: And how do you decide on that each week?
Saleh: Every week, it's guys who exemplify what we're looking for out of a Titan. So we look at, not only from a veteran leadership standpoint, but how they operate in the building from day to day, not just on the field, but off the field.
Reporter: Last year, Paul, the TD. How do you look at doubt, like a guy having any self-doubt, a guy maybe having doubt in you or a coach when things aren't going well, a guy had a doubt in skiing. What kind of room is there for doubt? Is that dangerous things or the healthy things?
Saleh: That's good, Paul, because there's, at the end of the day, you know, like, I mean, I love my financial advisor, but if his numbers don't improve, well, I'm going to have doubt and his ability to be a financial advisor for me. And so the affirmation of winning, yeah, it's a human thing throughout all of our universe, right? If you're not getting the results you're looking for and you're preaching for, doubt seeps into everybody. But the important thing is to stay self-regulated in terms of controlling what you've got control over, trust the people around you. And we've got a lot of football left to play. We're going to be around each other for a very, very long time. But yeah, you'd love a couple of affirmations to make sure that you can see that there is light at the end of the tunnel. You've just got to continue to grind through it.
Reporter: I know it's off topic for this for one of our other guys. Matt LeFlore, seeing him get his first win, how happy are you?
Saleh: Mikey? Yeah, Mikey, excuse me. Mikey, it was awesome. Mikey is a very, very talented football coach. Very smart, very, very, very good play caller. And so it was good to see them win.
