Titans Hire Brian Daboll as OC

The NFL offseason, and coaching cycle, moves at unrelenting speed. The Tennessee Titans experienced this already in their chase for a new head coach, eventually landing on Robert Saleh after taking a big swing, and coming up just short, on John Harbaugh. Immediately in the wake of that move, though, another position of almost equal importance opened up.

At offensive coordinator, the Titans were looking for a candidate who could helm the foreseeable future of Cam Ward's budding career. As the anticipated face of Tennessee's franchise for a long time coming, Ward being taken care of by a specialized coach in his department was a crucial stipulation of the Saleh hire. Now, as dominoes fall and contracts are signed, the Titans got their guy.

Mere (relative) moments after the Buffalo Bills decided to promote their OC, Joe Brady, to the HC position, Tennessee locked down Daboll for their own OC opening. The move comes after a sort of stalemate that saw Daboll waiting for a shot in Buffalo and, subsequently, the Titans waiting to see if he'd get it.

Pushing the Button

The former New York Giants head-man was Tennessee's preference since Saleh's hire, with reports as early as last week suggesting that Daboll would end up in Nashville if Buffalo went another route. Clearly, the Titans were waiting to push the button for a long while.

Daboll's move to Tennessee also interuppts his ongoing interview cycle with the Las Vegas Raiders, where the candidate seemed to be gaining some significant traction after an initial visit. Whatever happened behind the scenes, though, the Titans clearly made the stronger impression.

ESPN sources: The Titans are now set to hire former Giants head coach Brian Daboll as their offensive coordinator, contingent upon him not getting the Raiders head coaching job. pic.twitter.com/mvdUyX81fv
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 27, 2026

An Offensive Background

Having rotated through OC roles since his initial stint with the Cleveland Browns in 2009-10, Daboll has one of the most decorated backgrounds as a scoring mind of any active coach in the league. His run at a larger workload with the Giants didn't pay off, sure, but Daboll's decade-plus of play-calling experience is set to serve him well in a familiar role in Tennessee.

To boot, having helped develop Josh Allen in Buffalo from 2018-21, Daboll's specific past with star signal callers aligns him perfectly with the aforementioned needs of Ward under center.

For the first time in remotely recent memory, it seems, the Titans won out for a high-profile coaching candidate. The tide is turning in Tennessee, and with Daboll and Saleh now refreshing the staff, fans are potentially in for a positively memorable year.

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