The Tennessee Titans will have a new head coach, a new defense and apparently a new cafeteria menu this season.
Robert Saleh, who was hired by the Titans in January after spending 2025 as the 49ers’ defensive cooridnator, revealed at a press conference on Thursday that he and his staff have banned a controversial food ingredient from players’ meals heading into the 2026 season.
“One of the first things I think we did here,” Saleh said, “is get rid of all the seed oils in the building.”
Seed oils are highly processed cooking oils that come from sources like rapeseed, soybean, corn and safflower. They’re often found in salad dressings and in other common commercial dishes. They’re affordable, and they help make food — typically items in the junk category — taste better.
Fitness industry experts, though, have recently encouraged people to stay away from them — believing they’re toxic and inflammatory.
Saleh clearly believes there’s some validity to the theory, and he said his players have expressed appreciation for his decision to drop them from the Titans’ facilities this year.
“Miss Amy [Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk] has allowed us to attack the budget and get the players better variety,” Saleh said. “I’ll put our staff — I’ve been in six different buildings — and I’ll put our staff up there with the best of them. The product they put out in the cafeteria daily is outstanding.”
Saleh didn’t find much success in his first go-around as an NFL head coach — he was just 20-36 in a little over three seasons with the Jets — but perhaps a canola oil for olive oil swap is the catalyst for better results.
