Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Quinnen Williams knows exactly what Robert Saleh and defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton bring to the Tennessee Titans. The star DT believes the duo could help shoot Jeffery Simmons to the moon.
"Jeffery Simmons might be Defensive Player of the Year next year," Williams told Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official website during the Pro Bowl earlier this month. "The ability he has, and the things he does well, already he is a phenomenal player. And now to have the coaches around him who are going to help him even more, watch out."
Saleh has helped galvanize defenses wherever he's been. During his run in New York, he turned an awful defense into a top-10 unit before he was fired. Williams' best seasons were under Saleh in New York -- three straight Pro Bowls from 2022-2024.
"I think he's a phenomenal head coach, a phenomenal defensive-minded coach, and he does things right," Williams said of Saleh. "It's going to be great to have him in Tennessee -- players love him, his enthusiasm, his persona, his mindset that he brings to the game. I know Jeff is going to love him."
Williams also credited Whitecotton with teaching him the intricacies of line play, which aided "tremendously" in his development.
Simmons is already a stud, earning Pro Bowl nods in four of the past five seasons and his first first-team All-Pro honor in 2025, generating a career-high 11 sacks and 17 tackles for loss. The violence that the behemoth plays with completely wrecks opponents' game plans. Sometimes big men in the middle get lost. Not Simmons. He's a thermonuclear bomb wrapped in Titan blue and navy.
Tennessee will have to win a lot more games than it has in the past two years -- six combined -- for Simmons to hoist hardware next February, but the talent isn't a question. With a new coaching staff, it could be a banner year for the Titans' star.
