Could there be a better storyline to kick off the 2026 NFL season than Robert Saleh facing his former team? Jets superfan Fireman Ed recently went on the Jake Asmund Show and claimed a source at the American Century Golf Championship in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, told him Saleh plans to kick the Jets’ ass in Week 1 when New York heads to Nashville to take on the Titans.

Robert Saleh was asked about the comments Thursday at Titans training camp, fielding it as the last question of his press conference.

“I don’t think the Jets are coming here Week 1 to sit at the 50-yard line, roast marshmallows, and talk about our summers. We’re getting after it, they’re getting after it. May the best team win.”

The message was clear. He didn’t deny anything, didn’t downplay anything. He essentially said: Am I not supposed to want to beat the team that let me go? They’re going to feel the same way about us.

And he’s right.

The history between Saleh and the Jets

Whether Saleh actually said what Fireman Ed’s source claims at the American Century Championship doesn’t really matter. The storylines surrounding this Jets-Titans Week 1 matchup in Nashville are stacked. And quite frankly, for two franchises that rarely share meaningful connections, there are far more narratives here than you’d expect.

We all know about Saleh’s time with the Jets. He went 20-36 overall in a little over three seasons as head coach. The peak of that era came in 2022 when New York started 7-4 before losing six straight and finishing 7-10. Then came the Aaron Rodgers acquisition, and we all know how that went. Rodgers tore his Achilles four plays into the 2023 season opener against the Buffalo Bills, and the experiment failed because of that unfortunate incident that plagued the Jets for the 2023 season and the one following.

I think if we’re being honest, we were all a little shocked when Jets owner Woody Johnson fired Saleh after the Week 5 loss to the Vikings in London a couple of years ago. It just didn’t seem right at the time. Now, the Jets had a horrible year, but I think they would have been a little better if Saleh remained the head coach throughout it all.

Why Week 1 carries massive stakes for both sides

Aaron Glenn’s first year as Jets head coach was rough. Really rough. The final result was a  3-14 record, and now he heads into Nashville in Week 1 with a ton of pressure already on his shoulders, facing the man Woody Johnson fired and chose Glenn to replace. That is a lot of pressure and a lot of stakes.

Obviously, if the Jets drop Week 1 in Nashville, Johnson isn’t going to fire Glenn on the plane ride home. But it sets a negative tone for the season right from the jump, and Glenn already has a mountain of expectations to win now.

On the other side, while the pressure on Tennessee’s organization as a whole may not be enormous in Week 1, there’s a ton of it on Saleh individually. You best believe he wants to beat the team that let him go two seasons ago. Don’t get me wrong, Robert Saleh handled the Titans press conference answer with class, but you know the fire is there.

I’m pumped the NFL schedule makers gave us this one. We don’t get a ton of big national storylines for either the Jets or the Titans, and this game delivers on every level. I think it’s going to be a barn burner in Week 1 and one of the most fun openers on the entire schedule.