12 Reasons To Be Excited For Next Season

While the 2025 season was not one that was particularly fun for Titans fans, the future is looking brighter every single day. Let's dive into 12 reasons why.

The Hiring of Robert Saleh

The first big move that the Titans made this offseason was hiring their new head coach: Robert Saleh. Saleh is now on his second head coaching role after an unsuccessful tenure with the Jets.

His failure in New York should not deter you though. Saleh is one of the best defensive minds in the NFL and has the traits of an incredible leader. His 20-36 record with the Jets is also not terrible when you consider the disfunction of that franchise. 20 wins is more than they were 2-14 the year before he was hired and he took them to multiple 7 win seasons.

Hiring Saleh at the very least gives a new mind and system in Tennessee and will give Cam Ward a level of consistency in 2026, as Saleh will no doubt last at least one full season being the head coach.

The Hiring of Brian Daboll

Soon after being hired by the Titans, Saleh hired an offensive coordinator: Brian Daboll. Daboll was one of the best hires he could have made, as he had interviews to be a head coach in multiple spots.

Daboll is heavily credited with being a key player in developing Bills quarterback Josh Allen and led the New York Giants to a playoff win during his tenure as their head coach.

Saleh and Daboll made it clear that they wanted to work together and this should help the lead the Titans offense to a level they have not seen in years.

The Hiring of Gus Bradley

A few days later, Saleh hired Gus Bradley to be the teams defensive coordinator. Bradley has years of coordinating experience including kicking off the Legion of Boom era in Seattle.

Saleh and Bradley run very similar schemes, both rooted in Pete Carroll's 4-3 scheme, utilizing zone coverage and limited blitzing. Bradley's familiarity with the scheme while not having to call plays will allow him to install the scheme in the Titans defense and gameplan effectively. He will take tasks off of Saleh to help the team's defense to run efficiently.

Having experience on the defensive side of the ball will be crucial when it comes to winning these next seasons.

Cam Ward Sophomore Season

2026 will be Cam Ward's second season in the NFL. He had a rookie year that showed incredible potential but also had some struggles. This is a normal experience for a first year player adjusting to the NFL.

This offseason will give Ward plenty more time to improve some of the areas that he struggled with this season, such as ball control and deep accuracy. It will also allow him to slow down the game better, which comes with experience.

The developmental jump between the first and second season in the NFL is one of the most important, and Ward should be able to use this time to really improve his game.

Number 4 Overall Pick

The Titan's 3-14 record in 2025 allowed them to earn the number 4 pick in April's draft. A top 5 pick like this should allow the team to pickup either a star edge rusher or a true number one receiver, which they lack.

A star edge rusher paired with Jeffery Simmons will elevate the pass rush and defensive line of the Titans to a whole new level. Rather that is David Bailey out of Texas Tech or Rueben Bain Jr. out of Miami, the Titans need a stud on the edge,

A true number one receiver is something the team has lacked since the trade of A.J. Brown, and would be huge for this offense and Cam Ward. A quarterback can only do so much by themselves and Ward needs some help elevating this offense.

Highest Cap Space

The Titans are going into free agency with the most cap space in the entire NFL, with likely just over $100 million to spend.

This much cap is great for filling some of the holes that this roster has, and will hopefully get the team some talent to help them win games.

Positions the Titans will probably look to sign include receiver, tight end, guard, edge, cornerback and safety.

Easier Schedule

The Titans, despite having the first overall pick, had the hardest strenght of schedule in 2025. They were extremely unlucky with some teams having incredible leaps.

The Titans played both superbowl teams, and in total played 8 games against playoff teams, as well as two games against the Colts while they were the best team in the AFC, before injuries and other factors ruined them.

In 2026, the team should likely have a bottom half schedule which should allow closer games and more wins.

Actual Secondary

The Titans secondary completely fell apart last season. All three of the starting cornerbacks coming into the season were gone by midseason, with Roger McCreary and Jarvis Brownlee Jr. being traded and L'Jarius Sneed being injuried and likely released this upcoming offseason.

The safeties also took a hit, with 3 of the first 4 in the depth chart sustaining long term injuries, leaving only Amani Hooker holding it together.

There were nobodies back there trying to cover receivers, but this offseason should allow the front office to reconstruct the secondary through free agency and the draft to being at least a playable group.

Bones is Staying

The Titans had their best special teams season in recent memory in 2025, with a punt block, multiple punt return touchdowns, and overall great play.

The coordinator responsible for this, John "Bones" Fassell, was announced to have been retained by Robert Saleh.

This will give consistency to the special teams and hopefully another great season in 2026.

New Uniforms + Logo

Evidence is pointing to a new logo and uniforms for the Titans in 2026, with them being a team filing for uniform changes. This follows Hall of Famer Warren Moon teasing new uniforms last offseason.

With the uniforms, there is also lots of rumors and evidence of a new logo coming.

While this doesn't pertain to play on the field, seeing new uniforms and logos could be a fun way to kick off next season.

Arden Key Will Be Gone

Arden Key has been a locker room cancer on and off the field, especially last season.

There were reports of him saying "not to listen to Cam" and to "enjoy this one" after a win this season on the team plane, with Ward not happy about his performance.

There were also incidents of him acting out on the field and getting penalties.

His play is not good enough to justify this, so seeing him gone should be nice for the Titans.

Aaron Whitecotton Hiring

Aaron Whitecotton was someone expected to be in the running for a defensive coordinator job this season, but the Titans managed to get him as their defensive line coach.

This is just another great hiring by Saleh to help spark this defense in 2026.