Cam Ward's rookie season with the Tennessee Titans had enough moments of promise to keep the long-term bet alive, but it also made one thing obvious. If the franchise is going to get a real jump from the former Miami star in year two, it needs to provide him with enough support to do so.
That is why the Titans lining up former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll to run the offense is such a big development, even if it is not as the head coach. Tennessee officially hired Robert Saleh as its next head coach, and the Titans are planning to bring in Daboll as offensive coordinator, contingent on Daboll not landing the Las Vegas Raiders' head coaching job.
ESPN sources: The Titans are now set to hire former Giants head coach Brian Daboll as their offensive coordinator, contingent upon him not getting the Raiders head coaching job. pic.twitter.com/mvdUyX81fv
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 27, 2026
If the hire gets finalized, Ward will be set up for success
Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, finished his first pro season completing 59.8% of his passes for 3,169 yards with 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The yardage total is the most ever by a rookie in Titans franchise history. But the efficiency stats show why Tennessee went 3-14 and why the offense needed a total overhaul.
The Titans averaged 16.7 points per game in 2025. Ward also took 55 sacks, and the ball security became a weekly issue with Ward logging 11 fumbles and seven lost in 17 games.
This is where Brian Daboll comes in
Daboll has been a part of one of the best QB development examples in recent memory. During his Bills run, Josh Allen's passing numbers jumped as the offense grew up around him. Allen threw for 2,074 yards with 10 passing touchdowns and 12 interceptions as a rookie in 2018.
In 2019, he jumped to 3,089 yards with 20 touchdowns and nine picks. In 2020, he exploded to 4,544 yards with 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, plus a passer rating of 107.2. The Bills' points per game also climbed from 19.6 in 2019 to 31.3 in 2020. Daboll was recognized for that work, winning the AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year award for the 2020 season.
Daboll's stop in New York as the head coach of the Giants may not have ended the way both parties wanted, but it still showed his ability to develop. In Daboll's first season with the Giants in 2022, Daniel Jones completed 67.2% of his passes for 3,205 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, while New York reached the playoffs and won a postseason game. Daboll won NFL Coach of the Year that season.
Daboll's best offenses have generally leaned into the things that make a young quarterback's life easier without babying him. That usually means a more defined quick game, more easy yards off play-action, and a run game that forces defenses to play honest. That is exactly what Ward —who has shown that he has enough talent to be a starter in this league — needs.
This doesn't Ward a finished product overnight. But the point of hiring a play-caller like Daboll is that he brings in a proven formula for young QBs. He has coached quarterbacks with different styles, and the best version of his offenses has taken a talented, mistake-prone player and turned him into a problem for defenses.