Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh reflected on a day that forever changed his family, and ultimately changed the direction of his own life.
Saleh’s older brother, David, was working inside the South Tower of the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001. He managed to escape the building, but Robert recalled the agonizing period when his family did not know whether he had survived.
A quarter-century later, Saleh acknowledged during a press conference how fortunate his family was to eventually receive the news so many others never did.
“I couldn’t even register what was happening,” Saleh said.
Saleh Recalls Family Fearing His Brother Was Gone
David was in the South Tower when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the neighboring North Tower. Robert told reporters that his brother was somewhere around the 64th floor at the time and immediately headed for the stairs.
That decision proved critical. Robert estimated that David had made it to approximately the 20th floor when United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower.
David continued his escape and eventually made it outside. According to Robert, his brother had put roughly a half-mile to a mile between himself and the World Trade Center by the time the towers came down.
His family, however, did not immediately know that.
Robert recalled the fear that took hold after learning the South Tower had collapsed and being unable to reach David. As the family waited for information, they began to believe he had been killed.
“If I ever wanted to see what my mom looked like if she lost one of us, that was the day,” Saleh told reporters while reflecting on the attacks 25 years later. “We didn’t hear from him for a while, we were convinced that he was gone.”
For Saleh, that memory remains accompanied by the recognition that his family was ultimately among the fortunate ones.
“We’re the lucky ones,” he said. “We’re very fortunate. My brother got out safe, we had the opportunity to reflect.”
According to The Mirror, David previously detailed his experience in a 2021 interview with ESPN. He had arrived in New York only days before the attacks to participate in a month-long training program for his job as a financial adviser with Morgan Stanley.
September 10 was his first day of the program. The following morning, he was high inside the South Tower when he saw what had happened to the North Tower and headed for the stairwell.
David eventually reached the ground and continued putting distance between himself and the buildings. He later recalled the surreal nature of what he witnessed, telling ESPN that the experience seemed to unfold in slow motion.
9/11 Led Robert Saleh to Pursue Football Career
Saleh wasn’t working in football at the time of the attacks. He had graduated from Northern Michigan University and entered the financial world, following a more conventional career path rather than pursuing his passion for the sport.
“And through tragedy, through this country’s tragedy, we were able to, speaking for me, find an avenue where, I don’t know the word to explain it, but I found my path through tragedy,” Saleh said.
He realized he wanted to pursue football rather than continue working at a bank, a decision that would eventually take him across college football and into the NFL.
“I was working at the bank, and through self-reflection, it just, it allowed me the opportunity to change my path and pursue something that I love,” Saleh said.
He became one of the league’s most prominent defensive coaches and later got his first opportunity as an NFL head coach.
“I’ve been very fortunate along the way,” Saleh said.
‘We’re the Lucky Ones’: Titans’ Robert Saleh Reflects on Brother’s 9/11 Survival