Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi and Robert Saleh shake hands at the new head coach’s introductory press conference at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. DENNY SIMMONS / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Titans Retain Handful of Assistant Coaches

Originally posted on Tennessee Titans on SI
By Lane Mills | Last updated Feb 3, 2026 5:00 PM ET

The Tennessee Titans got one of the earliest jumps on the 2026 offseason of any franchise working toward a similar goal. That is, a complete franchise overhaul that, starting from the top, aims to rebuild a team's expectations moving forward. Beginning with the hire of Robert Saleh - just the third of the just-finished coaching cycle - Tennessee has begun to do just that.

After Saleh was brought on, the head coach immediately got to work in scoring a number of high-profile coordinators to accompany him. Led by offensive play-caller and quarterback guru Brian Daboll, the Titans are widely perceived to have positively swapped just about every headset on-staff.

Yet, rarely can a team add names ad infinitum without losing something in the process. In another example of this give-and-take reaction, the Titans saw a shake-up with a number of assistant coaches.

Three Stay, Two Go

In a recent post on X (Twitter), Paul Kuharsky noted a string of breaking moves within the finer lines of Tennessee's consistently changing staff. In addition to three names staying in place, two more departed to the same, outbound desination.

"Titans director of sports performance Zac Woodfin is staying in place, along with assistant director of sports performance Brian Bell and assistant sports performance/ speed training coach John Shaw," Kuharsky reported.

#Titans director of sports performance Zac Woodfin is staying in place, along with assistant director of sports performance Brian Bell and assistant sports performance/ speed training coach John Shaw.

TEN assistant strength and conditioning coaches Mark Lovat and Grant Thorne…
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) February 3, 2026

"TEN assistant strength and conditioning coaches Mark Lovat and Grant Thorne are going to the Steelers, as reported by [Chris Hummer]. Thorne was Titans' science guy, so they need a replacement there for sure."

"Blank" the Science Guy

Thorne, while not mixing potions and solving equations, per se, clearly played an important role in crunching Tennessee's numbers behind the scenes.

Having appeared to handle the more on-paper aspects of the Titans' strength and conditioning process, as Kuharsky puts it, Tennessee will have to fill that newly-formed blank with haste.

Yet, for now, the front office has done plenty of dirty work to be proud of when it comes to filling positions. Landing Gus Bradley as defensive coordinator is only the latest in a string of high-profile hires that have immediately worked to set Saleh's crew apart.

So while the openings left by Lovat and Thorne in their move to Pittsburgh demand a solution sooner rather than later, the overarching trails that Saleh has blazed in the short time since his hiring suggests that things will work out for the Titans just fine.

Both regarding those holes and, in perhaps a riskier sentiment, beyond, when the final product finally touches the field this fall.

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

More must-reads: