Tennessee Titans Defensive Coordinator Dennard Wilson fields questions during mandatory mini-camp at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

Titans Move On From DC After Robert Saleh Hiring

Originally posted on Tennessee Titans on SI
By Jordon Lawrenz | Last updated Jan 22, 2026 1:31 PM ET

The Tennessee Titans are moving on from defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson.

While the firing isn't to say Wilson is a bad coach. He's far from it, that's just the reality of bringing in a new head coach.

According to Titans' Paul Kuharsky , newly minted head coach Robert Saleh's first big move was relieving Wilson of his duties. Now, Saleh has two coordinator openings to fill.

News broke that Saleh will be calling the defensive plays this time around as a head coach, so his DC will have a lightened load of duties on gameday. That said, they still have a lot of work to do in order to get this defense ready to compete.

Titans Move On From Dennard Wilson

Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson is not being retained by the #Titans and Robert Saleh.
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) January 22, 2026

Wilson, 43, has been the Titans defensive coordinator since the 2024 season. He has been in the NFL since 2008 when he began as a Pro scout for the Chicago Bears. From there, he took on duties as a defensive quality control coach, defensive backs coach, passing game coordinator, and finally his job as a DC in Tennessee.

The undrafted safety out of Maryland had a stint with Washington in 2004 before deciding he'd be best suited as a coach. While Wilson would've loved to stay in Tennessee, the options of the new hire keeping each of the Titans coordinators was slim to none.

Plenty of teams still have DC openings that would do wonders for Wilson. As he continues to pursue being a head coach, Wilson's defensive mindset was the one behind a career year for defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. Wilson was also able to take linebacker Cedric Gray and get him near the top of the league in total tackles, so he has a lot to hang on his resume.

Titans DC Opening

From earlier on Next Man Up:#Titans have informed Dennard Wilson he will not be retained. Look for asst DB coach Tony Oden to remain on the staff. Oden and Robert Saleh worked together both in SF and with the NYJ. https://t.co/1S3EnPeYlu
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) January 22, 2026

With all eyes on six potential new offensive coordinators, the Titans now have to focus on the defensive side of things as well. Once they wrapped up interviews for their head coach opening, they knew their work had just begun.

Overall, Tennessee's defense is in a pretty solid spot. There are a lot of holes, no doubt, but they have over $100 million in cap space to work with and will likely draft a defensive player at No. 4 overall.

Whoever Saleh brings in will probably be someone he has experience with in the past. In order to make this a top defense in the NFL, Saleh needs to have a level of trust and confidence in his coordinator to replicate the success Wilson had with a few players this season.

This article first appeared on Tennessee Titans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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