‘4 Downs’ with Rich: the Tennessee Titans Biggest Questions Heading into the 2026 NFL Season

Nashville has quietly turned into New York South, and Rich would like someone to explain how it happened.

The fourth installment of 4 Downs, presented by LinkedIn, worked its way down the draft order to the Tennessee Titans, and it opened with the question hanging over the entire operation. "Did the Titans turn Nashville into the new New York South and we just totally missed it?"

Start with the sideline. Head coach Robert Saleh ran the Jets. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll ran the Giants. Then work through the offseason. Tennessee spent $78 million on Wan'Dale Robinson, a former Giant. It traded for Jermaine Johnson, a former Jet. It signed John Franklin-Myers, another former Jet. It added Cor'Dale Flott, another former Giant.

Rich did not treat that as an indictment. "Things haven't been going well in New York football for a while, but you can cherry pick some really good players," he said, calling Saleh and Daboll "two terrific coaches." His read on Saleh is that the Jets years never gave him a fair shot. Zach Wilson was a choice that did not work out. Aaron Rodgers was an excellent choice until the football gods got to his Achilles.

Second down went after the coaching staff's most obvious shared trait. "Will the Titans coaching staff writ large, will their first season be as smooth as their hairline?" The room immediately crowned it the baldest staff ever.

Underneath the joke sits a real point about defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. Bradley was reportedly the 49ers' choice to replace Saleh, until the Atlanta Falcons moved on from Raheem Morris, and Morris and Kyle Shanahan "go back like, you know, a car seat." That freed Bradley up to be hired in Tennessee. So a coach San Francisco wanted to run Saleh's system is now running it for Saleh himself. "I can't wait to see what Saleh 2.0 is," Rich said.

Third down had teeth. Tennessee used the fourth overall pick on Carnell Tate, a wide receiver out of The Ohio State, for a team that tied for 30th in sacks last season with 32. Arvell Reese was sitting there. Sonny Styles was sitting there. Caleb Downs was available if you wanted any other Ohio State defender. Reuben Bain, whom a lot of teams passed on, landed in Tampa. The Titans instead added another receiver to a room that already features Calvin Ridley.

That decision leads directly to fourth down, and fourth down is simple. It is Cam Ward, and everybody knows it.

"Coaching staff knows it. Front office knows it. Cam Ward knows it. The offensive line knows it," Rich said. "The whole league knows it." The first overall pick from two years ago now has a new look logo, a new coach, and a play caller whose quarterback resume runs from Jalen Hurts at Alabama to Josh Allen in Buffalo. Even the Daniel Jones chapter produced a Coach of the Year award and a playoff win.

Whether the last-second magic Ward produced at Miami translates to the pros is the whole season. If it does not, the beginning in Tennessee gets hairy rather than smooth.

One counter came from the room before the segment closed: the Ward-to-Tate connection "could be sneaky special this season."