Cam Ward details excitement about Titans hiring Robert Saleh, Brian Daboll: 'He is going to get on my ass'

Cam Ward's rookie season with the Tennessee Titans was just about as challenging as it gets. The team started 0-4, whereupon Ward declared "We ass." After falling to 1-5, the Titans fired Brian Callahan, the first organization to move on from its coach this season. And even after some improvement, the Titans finished 3-14, and Ward, who had played every offensive snap, left the finale early after suffering an AC sprain.

Ward wasn't the first No. 1 overall pick to have a difficult rookie year, and he won't be the last. But he's hoping he can be the latest to experience a turnaround in Year 2, especially with a new staff around him. Speaking to Jim Wyatt of the Titans' team site, Ward detailed his excitement to play for new coach Robert Saleh and new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

"I think it's a great hire, especially for the team and where we want to be identity-wise, what we want to put on the field," Ward said of Saleh. "I think he's respected among players across the league, so I am excited to have him as my head coach and excited to get some wins for him."

Saleh delved into that identity at his introductory press conference last week.

"Fast and violent," Saleh said. "Play-in and play-out, we're going to play with speed. We're going to play confident, and we're going to have some swag, talk a little shit. I want them to show who they are, play-in and play-out."

Ward added he and Saleh have gotten to know each other a bit in their short time together. Ward's relationship with Daboll goes back further: The two interacted plenty leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, and Daboll, then the New York Giants' coach, came away impressed. The Giants reportedly offered its 2025 first-round pick (No. 3 overall), 2026 first-round pick and other picks to Tennessee to move up to No. 1 and select Ward, per ESPN. New York ended up picking defensive edge Abdul Carter No. 3 overall and quarterback Jaxson Dart No. 25 overall.

"I don't need it, but I want it," Ward said about Daboll's penchant for tough-love coaching. "And it's not for my sake, because I know what I want to be. I don't need a coach to pat me on the back or cuss me out. I want a coach like coach Daboll who is going to be the same each and every day. He is going to let me know the real, and I just have to respond."

As for Daboll's demanding nature?

"I like that he is a fiery coach," Ward said. "He is going to get on my ass when he needs to, and he is going to hold me to a high standard. And that's the standard I want to be held to."

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After Callahan's ouster in October, Ward said he wanted a coach who knows both sides of the ball and "can do everything top to bottom." In Saleh, who coached the New York Jets, and Daboll, he now has two former head coaches in key positions of leadership.

Ward praised general manager Mike Borgonzi, team owner Amy Adams Strunk and president of football operations Chad Brinker, who "got it right with each and every hire."

Ward showed progress across second half of season

Ward struggled on the whole in his first year. Among 33 passer rating-qualified quarterbacks, Ward was ...

• 33rd in yards per attempt (5.9)
• 33rd in expected points added per dropback (-0.15)
• 31st in completion percentage (59.8%)
• 28th in sack rate (9.2%)

As the season progressed, however, Ward did, too. Over the final third of the season Ward took a significant leap as he and his top wide receivers, fellow rookies Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike, settled in.

Ward showed the creative abilities and arm talent that helped propel him to the No. 1 pick, too.

The Titans are still far from a finished product, and the next steps -- including the No. 4 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft -- will be crucial. But with Saleh and Daboll on board, Ward thinks there are better days ahead.

"It makes me feel more comfortable, because we are building things not only for the future, but we are trying to build it now," Ward told Wyatt. "We have the players on the roster to do it right now, but we have to add a couple of more pieces on both sides of the ball. Once we do that, I think we'll be a very good team, and we'll be able to compete at the highest level."