NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Dick LeBeau talked to some people around the league, but he was hardly eager to move on from his spot on the staff of the Tennessee Titans.

He told Jim Wyatt of the team’s website that “I was never going to go anywhere if I could come back here.”

Now, LeBeau returns for his second season, this time running the defense under head coach Mike Mularkey.

“I have respect for Mike,” LeBeau said. “We worked together in Pittsburgh, and he’s an excellent coach. But I also like our players, the way they work, the way they fought through a tough situation last year.

“I was never going anywhere but here, if they’d have me.”

System continuity will be good. But LeBeau and the defensive staff need more players. The secondary needs a major revamping, the team needs a third pass-rushing outside linebacker and both its nose tackles -- Al Woods and Sammie Hill -- are heading for free agency.

The Titans made significant improvements on defense last season, but third-down conversions over the last nine games were around 50 percent for opponents, a rate that is way too high. Tennessee gave up too many points too often and got burned by big plays.

“When you take where we were after the 2014 season and see where we were after 2015, you’d have to say we made significant progress,” he said. “I want to continue with that progress, and that’s in all areas. I don’t want to get fat and happy with any of them. ... I want to acknowledge they made solid progress, but we have to keep getting better.”