Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said on Feb. 18 that quarterback Cam Ward was a major factor in his decision to join the team.
Daboll’s career has been defined by success. He developed Josh Allen from a raw prospect into one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks. He now has the opportunity to work with a former number one overall pick who showed promise in his rookie season. Daboll said at his introductory news conference that he has a lot of work to do with Ward this offseason, which he was looking forward to.
“I'll just say it felt like the right fit, with the right people,” Daboll said, praising head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Mike Borgonzi. “Ultimately, Cam was a big factor. I have a lot of confidence in this young man.”
As head coach of the New York Giants, Daboll acquainted himself with Ward during the pre-draft process in 2025. The Giants had the third overall pick in the Draft, and while it was a foregone conclusion that Ward would go first overall to the Titans, Daboll and his coaching staff still did their due diligence. They hosted a Top 30 Draft visit and had meetings with him in Miami.
“I think he has some moxie to him,” he said of his initial impressions of Ward. “He’s tough. He holds himself to a high standard, which is important for that position.”
Having looked at his film from his college days at Washington State and Miami, then his rookie season, Daboll praised Ward’s athleticism, accuracy, intelligence, and ability to turn garbage into gold when plays break down. He said he was looking forward to talking to and building with him.
“April can’t come soon enough to get going on the offensive installation part of it,” he said.
While Ward would have to commit to the offseason program, Daboll expressed confidence that he would.
A reporter asked him to compare the situation between Ward, Allen in Buffalo, and Jaxson Dart in New York. He refused to make an apples-to-apples comparison between the three young QBs—or any of the veteran passers he worked with throughout his career—saying he needed to build a relationship with Ward first to get insight into how he processes the field.
“I always like to see the game through the quarterback’s eyes. There’s going to be mistakes out there that I think he’s made on tape [previously], and he might have a completely different answer. So, that communication is really important,” he said.
“I learned that dealing with Josh, dealing with Jaxson, [being] around some veteran quarterbacks. It’s a hard position to play. It’s easy to sit back there and say, ‘What the [expletive] did you do that for?’ But until I can get that communication with him and go through these plays with a fine tooth comb, iron out the details of it, we’re a little bit away from that.”
Daboll also praised the rest of the Titans’ young offense.
“They’ve got two receivers that are tough, that play the game the right way,” he said of rookies Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike.
“Dike, obviously special teams is well documented, but he’s done some things on the offensive side of the ball. [Tyjae] Spears and [Tony] Pollard are two good running backs that make yards when they have the ball in their hands ... I like JC [Latham]. I think he’s a good piece there to have at right tackle ... I just like the vision that [head coach Robert] Saleh had, and I like the vision that Borgo had ... but April can’t come soon enough.”
