NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Robert Saleh sees being in the NFL as a blessing no matter if it’s the first, second or even third time around with yet another team. “We’re the luckiest people in the world,” Saleh said. His second chance as an NFL head coach came in Tennessee with the Titans, and he has lots of company as a new head coach with a new franchise. The NFL tied its record with 10 head coaches hired by new teams this offseason, matching the previous high last reached in 2022. John Harbaugh had his choice of jobs for his second NFL team, and Kevin Stefanski simply switched from Cleveland to Atlanta. Mike McCarthy, back home in Pittsburgh, has joined a list of men to coach three franchises. The other six all are in their first go-round as NFL head coaches: Buffalo’s Joe Brady, Mike LaFleur in Arizona, Jesse Minter in Baltimore, Todd Monken in Cleveland, Jeff Hafley in Miami and Klint Kubiak in Las Vegas.
For coaches like Saleh, a new team offers the chance to fix areas that didn’t work before. Saleh said he’s made “significant changes” from his first training camp with the New York Jets in 2021. He went 20-36 before the Jets fired him after a 2-3 start in 2024. “Just a completely different coach from my first year as a head coach to now,” Saleh said when his Titans reported for training camp.
