Charting a coaching trajectory to the NFL is as Herculean as it can get. It takes years of consistent results, gradual progress through the D2, D1, and Power-4 levels in college football, and, most of all, the right connections. Still, an NFL job isn’t a guarantee. Interestingly, a USA Today Sports analysis in 2022 found that about 13% of NFL coaches have a relative who is an NFL coach. That alone helps bypass all the above steps. The Titans’ new coaching hire by head coach Robert Saleh is now making news, controversially, for the same reason.

According to reports, the Titans have added Robert Saleh’s cousin, Ahmed Saleh, to their coaching staff.

The move comes amid what has otherwise been one of the more aggressive and experience-heavy staff overhauls by a new NFL head coach in recent years. In just weeks on the job, Robert Saleh assembled a veteran group around him, landing coordinators Brian Daboll and Gus Bradley almost immediately, signaling that Tennessee was prioritizing proven NFL leadership as it reset its sideline.

While Tennessee has not yet officially detailed Ahmed Saleh’s role, multiple reports point to him stepping in as a defensive quality control coach, a behind-the-scenes developmental position often used to groom young assistants within NFL systems. Given his background working with linebackers and special teams units, his responsibilities are expected to align closely with Gus Bradley’s defensive staff. Yet, the approach made the transition from Division II to the NFL all the more noticeable.

Ahmed was previously serving as Wayne State’s LBs coach and special teams coordinator. Ahmed’s transition from a D2 conference like GLIAC to the NFL is now raising eyebrows, given that his head coach was fired after the 2025 season and the Warriors finished with a 0-11 season.

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Led by head coach Tyrone Wheatley, the Warriors had some of the most embarrassing blowout losses in 2025. The team lost its opening game 7-34 against the Tiffin Dragons and lost 0-59 to Ferris State. Thereafter, another blowout, 13-59, came against Grand Valley State, and the team stood at the bottom in key metrics. Ahmed Saleh joined Wayne State in 2024 and stayed for two years.

During his time, Saleh coached six Academic All-GLIAC linebackers, which included Quincy Salter and Gavin Troy. The duo earned spots in GLIAC academic excellence teams, and LB CJ Jordon was named the special team’s MVP. Despite coaching some illustrious D2 players, one can’t help but notice the oddness of Robert Saleh’s hire of his cousin.

“With how little his experience is, this is an odd hire,” Wrote Titan Teen’s Brody Drupert. Saleh started his coaching career as a defensive student assistant at Michigan State and later became the DC and LBs coach at Dearborn Fordson High School in 2017. After finishing up his High School tenure, Ahmed became a graduate assistant at Colorado State during 2018 and 2019. Subsequently, he was hired as special teams coordinator and DBs coach at Madonna University for two years till 2021.

In terms of NFL tangibles to show, Saleh just has the NFL Bill Walsh Coaching Fellowship at the 49ers and Packers. Finally, after a one-year stint as safeties coach at Northern Michigan, Saleh finally moved to Wayne State. Moving to the NFL now looks like a highly unexpected career trajectory for him, and head coach Robert Saleh might have some ‘nepotism’ questions to answer. 

Ahmed Saleh’s hiring stinks of the NFL head coaches’ past hiring blueprint

NFL coaches are no strangers to accusations of nepotism. In 2022, 7 head coaches were sons or fathers of an NFL coach, a number that is bound to increase in the coming years. Another USA Today survey revealed that 37 of the NFL coaches’ sons out of 79 got the same job on their father’s staff. The NFL’s executive has also flagged the nepotism concerns and detailed how hard it is for and outside to crack an NFL job, let alone from CFB’s D2 level.

“That’s a tight-knit fraternity, with nepotism and all of those things coming at play,” NFL’s executive VP Troy Vincent said. “It’s really hard to crack in those rooms.” One of the most prominent and cited examples is of Patriots’ Bill Belichick. He hired his sons, Steve (LBs coach) and Brian (safeties coach), who served long-term with the team. Since the program won big time, criticism was swept under the rug. But detractors have still pointed out that the hires intensified cronyism in the NFL.

A similar criticism was mounted on Pete Carroll when he hired his sons, Brennan (O line coach) and Nate (QBs coach), on the  Seahawks’ staff and later at the Raiders. “This offensive line coach is the biggest issue with this team,” an agent told ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler and Ryan McFadden. “Everybody knows, and nobody talks about it because it’s Pete’s son. Everyone talks about it behind the scenes; no one talks about it publicly.”

It usually takes extreme slog at the Power-4 levels to crack an NFL coaching gig. But if you know the right people, there’s a pipeline into the NFL that seems to be churning out hires repeatedly. It remains to be seen how Ahmed Saleh’s hire plays out for head coach Robert Saleh, although it hasn’t been revealed yet what Saleh’s job at the Titans will be.