On Thursday of this week, the Titans announced their finalized coaching staff under new head coach Robert Saleh. We had already covered many of the staff changes in previous posts as they were announced, but the release this week provided some previously uncovered updates.
On the offensive side of the ball, the only new info for position coaches saw a slight change in title for Randy Jordan. Originally retained to reprise his role as running backs coach, Jordan will reportedly take on the additional title of Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellowship coordinator.
The release announced the hires of Isaac Williams as assistant offensive line coach and John Rudnicki as offensive assistant. Lastly, offensive assistant Trevor Browder has been retained in the same role. It will be his third season in a full-time position for the team after first joining as a Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellow in 2023.
Williams arrived in the NFL in 2022 after six years of experience at a few small colleges. He’s served as the assistant offensive line coach for the Steelers for the past four years and will now assist new offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo in attempting to turn around a line that desperately needs improvement to protect quarterback Cam Ward.
Rudnicki will be making his NFL coaching debut as he makes his way up from the collegiate ranks. He started as an undergraduate student assistant coach working with the offensive line at Alabama before doing the same as a graduate assistant at South Alabama. He’s spent the past three years at South Carolina with two years as a graduate assistant before serving last year as an offensive assistant working with running backs.
On the defensive side of the ball, the release announced a couple of new hires in linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi and defensive backs/nickels coach Dalton Hilliard. We also got information that Ben Bloom and Travis Smith have been retained under new titles. Previously the team’s outside linebackers coach, Bloom has been retained as a senior defensive assistant, and previously the Titans’ defensive run game coordinator, Smith has been retained as senior defensive assistant/pass rush specialist. Lastly, previously reported with the title of defensive quality control coach, Ahmed Saleh, the head coach’s cousin, will instead hold the title of defensive assistant.
Borgonzi finds a home after not being retained in Dallas. He boasts 15 years of NFL coaching experience including eight years as a linebackers coach — four with the Colts, three with the Bears, and one with the Cowboys. According to Titans insider Paul Kuharsky, Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi removed himself from the hiring process in regard to his brother.
Hilliard will be making his NFL coaching debut after 11 years in the collegiate ranks. He held roles at his alma mater, UCLA, Tennessee-Martin, and Arkansas State before being named secondary coach at UConn in 2022 and adding passing game coordinator to his title in 2024. He joined Colorado State in December as pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach but will spurn the Rams for the NFL.
Lastly, it was announced that Rob Dadona would be hired as chief of staff. Dadona most recently held the role of manager of coaching operations with the Falcons. He’ll be reuniting with Saleh after working with him during his tenure in New York. Dadona started his NFL career as a football operations assistant in 2019 and was promoted to assistant to the head coach when Saleh took over in 2021.