Former Jets fan favorite joins Robert Saleh's Titans coaching staff

Former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh has wasted little time filling his new Tennessee Titans coaching staff with a number of familiar names from his Florham Park days. On Saturday, he added one more notable name to the list.

Saleh and the Titans officially hired former Jets defensive lineman — and Hard Knocks fan favorite — Tanzel Smart to be the team's new assistant defensive line coach.

Smart will serve under Saleh and defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton, both of whom previously coached him with the Jets. In fact, Whitecotton and Smart also worked together on the Dallas Cowboys during the 2025 season, with the latter serving as a defensive quality control assistant.

Now, Saleh is getting the band back together in Tennessee, and he's helping out one of his former favorites in the process.

Ex-Jets defensive lineman Tanzel Smart joins Robert Saleh's Titans coaching staff

A sixth-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in the 2017 NFL Draft, Smart played 31 games over the first three years of his career before signing on to the Jets' practice squad in October of 2020.

Smart would spend the better part of the next four years as a sporadic member of the Jets organization, appearing in just 10 games with the team. However, the Tulane product made a name for himself as a fan favorite during the team's 2023 Hard Knocks appearance.

Smart's days as a perennial member of the Jets' practice squad and a beloved member of the locker room may be over, but he’s seemingly found a new path in the NFL as a coaching assistant.

Saleh hasn't just brought over Whitecotton and Smart, either. He also hired former Jets assistants Tony Oden and Marquand Manuel to serve as the team's passing game coordinator/cornerbacks coach and defensive backs/safeties coach, respectively.

Saleh isn't just picking from his former Jets staff, as he also hired longtime friend and former coaching partner Gus Bradley as his defensive coordinator and even hired his own cousin, Ahmed Saleh, as a defensive assistant.

Connections clearly go a long way in the NFL, and Saleh has never been shy about surrounding himself with familiar voices and trusted relationships. That comfort level often helps moves like this come together quickly and with little hesitation.

For Tanzel Smart, it's another opportunity to show that he can carve out a successful career as an NFL coach. The man of "car-coochie" fame has found a new home with a familiar face.