NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Robert Saleh almost veered away from football when he was first introduced to the game at the age of 7. He was afraid because he was, as he described, "a little soft" when he first started.
The turning point for the Tennessee Titans' newest head coach came during an "Oklahoma drill" when he was 9 in Dearborn, Michigan. The controversial drill puts players in a one-on-one matchup designed to test a player's toughness and blocking/tackling techniques.
Robert used to say his stomach hurt when it was time to do that drill, which the NFL asked teams to stop conducting in 2019 to reduce concussions, so he didn't have to participate. But this time was different -- as the head coach of the Pop Warner team that was running the drill just happened to be his father, Sam.
So Robert refused to back down.