Rookie J.C. Latham reveals how Robert Saleh’s grueling twelve-hour days and meticulous attention to detail mirror the legendary "Saban way" during a demanding Titans training camp.
The Tennessee Titans have had one offseason's worth of practices under Robert Saleh so far.
There have been OTAs, rookie minicamp, minicamp, and training camp. Now, the Titans are having regular practices ahead of their season opener with the New York Jets on Sunday.
No NFL practice is going to be easy, but one player noticed a similarity between how Robert Saleh runs practices and how his former college coach did.
J.C. Latham was drafted out of Alabama in the 2024 NFL Draft. Latham was one of the last Alabama players coached by the legendary Nick Saban, who won six national titles while at Alabama.
Saban retired after the 2023 season following Alabama's loss to Michigan in the College Football Playoff.
Apparently, there is similarity between how Saleh ran training camp practice and how Saban ran his practices at Alabama. Latham agreed that this was one of the toughest training camps he's been a part of and compared it to what Saban did at Alabama.
"Yeah. 100%," Latham said. "Yeah, I mean, it definitely gave like Saban vibes. Just the way that he pushed us every single day. I mean, we were here pretty much every single day, 7am to 7 pm, so 12-hour days. He was extremely intentional with every single thing that he did. So you know, if we had an hour and a half, making sure that we were getting the right recovery in. Making sure that we were doing the right activation after our walkthroughs. Making sure that, you know, even with the way he sets up practices with the timing and pace of it, as far as, you know, what's the temperature on game day, so that's the temp we're gonna practice. We're not gonna shy away from the element and the temperatures. We're gonna be smart about it. You know, making sure guys stay hydrated and holding each other accountable for our hydration. Just everything. He's very detail-oriented, and that shows up in how he runs things around here and shows up throughout the team."
If players like Latham are starting to notice how Saleh runs his practices like Saban used to, it's never a bad thing.
Before his days at Alabama, Saban was actually a head coach in the NFL. He spent two seasons with the Miami Dolphins before being offered the Alabama job.
Saleh was actually an assistant at Michigan State back in the day, but not when Saban was there. Saban was the head coach at Michigan State from 1995-1999, while Saleh was an assistant coach there from 2002-03.
While Saleh and Saban were never on the same staff together, it's great that the Titans coach is running his practices in a similar fashion.
Saleh and the Titans open the year with the New York Jets on Sunday. Kickoff from Nissan Stadium is set for noon CT on CBS.
