Titans' Veteran DT Opens Up About Leadership Strategy

The Tennessee Titans, with an offense relying heavily on rookie assets and down multiple crucial players due to injury, are in desperate need of a leader in the locker room. Especially given the franchise's precarious head coaching scenario — between hires, still winless with their interim selection — the only chance the team has to avoid a season as disastrous as the last (a 3-14 finish) is to turn things around with the remnants of their roster that still remain.

Simmons Steps Up

As a result, perhaps to an extent by pure, dire necessity, the Titans' defensive cornerstone and franchise-defining tackle Jeffery Simmons has taken on a leadership role of his own amongst the roster. As the team hurls towards another unfavorable matchup this weekend at home against the Seattle Seahawks, Simmons is trying to make mental strides in the locker room.

According to the star DT, it starts and ends with his own brand of tough love.

"We've moved on from the things we talked about last week," Simmons said, working to keep he and his team's eyes set firmly on the road ahead. "Frustration is high, and we're losing..."

.@Titans DT @GrindSimmons94 talks leadership in the locker room on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/S9ur0A7jjk
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) November 20, 2025

Having a Job to Do

"I want to challenge my teammates," he continued. "I know they want to play better, and play good. That's my biggest thing when we talk about leading, sometimes guys are not gonna like what you say at times. I think that's part of being a leader."

"We all grown men, we all have a job to do. I think that's kind of my message," Simmons finished.

What exactly the Titans' have to accomplish at this point is unclear; with a 1-9 record, no chance to make the playoffs and, according to the injury report, facing one of their steepest hills all season this weekend, the franchise has rather surely hit an all-time low.

Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons (98) fields questions from the media on the first day of training camp at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park Wednesday, July 24, 2024. | Denny Simmons/The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

Perhaps, at this point, Tennessee can only focus on retaining internal positives in order to benefit whichever head-man is hired next to try and right this sinking ship of a franchise. With Simmons' role on the score-stopping side of the ball seemingly secure, the leadership he takes now can hold over into the next regime, benefitting the first-year talent as they continue to develop regardless.

A positive is a positive, especially when a team has little to nothing else to hold on to. So long as the Titans have Jeffery Simmons, they'll have a reliable bedrock in the locker room

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