For two years, the Tennessee Titans preached to fans, media and to the entire organization about collaboration.
The results of that collaboration are in, and that oft-used buzzword produced nine wins and 25 losses and ultimately helped to cost both Mike Vrabel and Ran Carthon their jobs. The buzzword turned into a buzzkill as the Titans sank to the bottom of the NFL this season.
So, with Vrabel now off to New England and Carthon off to collect checks from owner Amy Adams Strunk to not run the club, exactly where does the Titans’ organizational structure stand from here?
The clear No. 1 guy in Tennessee now is Chad Brinker, president of football operations. Brinker arrived just two years ago after 13 years with the Green Bay Packers as one of two assistant general managers Carthon hired. His primary role was to flesh out the Titans analytics department and use that as a scouting and evaluation tool.
A year later, things changed, even if the Titans did not readily make that clear. Brinker suddenly had a new title of president of football operations, putting him on equal footing with Burke Nihill, the team’s president and chief executive officer, who oversees the business side of the franchise.
When that move initially took place, Carthon retained control of the 53-man roster and had say over Brian Callahan and the coaching staff.
But when Carthon was fired Tuesday, Brinker was given final say over the roster, even though the new general manager – interviews were underway with 10 different candidates this week – will still be in charge of assessing and assembling the roster.
So, exactly how did Brinker rise to the top in the Titans organization so quickly, especially when collaboration was all the rage for owner Amy Adams Strunk, who insisted first that Vrabel and Carthon work together, with her breaking any ties or settling any disagreements that might have arisen?
Who knows exactly how it happened? Perhaps Brinker’s work behind the scenes found him favor with Strunk inside the organization. Or perhaps some sort of power struggle took place and Brinker was able to emerge as the winner.
The other assistant general manager hired at the same time as Brinker was Anthony Robinson. He was shoved out the door the same day Carthon was fired, further indicating that collaboration as we know inside the Titans’ organization is not only dead but an utter failure.
However it happened, it began last year when Brinker suddenly leapfrogged Carthon in the hierarchy. Inside the building, Brinker was in charge during the 2024 season, even as Carthon still retained control of the roster and personnel moves.
Now, with a new general manager coming on board and the Titans holding the No. 1 overall draft pick, the franchise has an opportunity to head in a new direction, a direction that Chad Brinker will have direct control over for the foreseeable future.
Terry McCormick also covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com