Chad Brinker has made an interesting climb in Tennessee. He is the last man standing from a triumvirate that included GM Ran Carthon and assistant GM Anthony Robinson, being given authority to hire a GM of his own.
Mike Borgonzi is now in that chair, being hired from the Chiefs last week, but Brinker confirmed Wednesday (via TitanInsider.com’s Terry McCormick) he has final say over the Titans’ 53-man roster. Elevated to president of Titans football operations last year, Brinker said (via veteran Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky) he did not have full control in 2024.
Regardless of Brinker’s responsibilities last year, his Nashville rise has been interesting. The Titans had Brinker and Robinson as co-assistant GMs in 2023, but Brinker rose above the ex-Falcons exec last year. That climb eventually included Carthon being fired after two years on the GM. Hours after that news broke, the Titans fired Robinson as well. Brinker is still standing, however, and is leading the Titans in a pivotal offseason.
Tumbling to 3-14 in Brian Callahan‘s first season, the Titans hold the No. 1 overall pick. It will be expected Brinker plays a significant role in the Titans’ draft, but the team’s current personnel boss said Borgonzi will run that process. That undoubtedly provided appeal for Borgonzi, who follows Brandt Tilis as Kansas City execs to leave despite not being given final-say authority elsewhere. Tilis joined the Panthers as Dan Morgan‘s top lieutenant last year.
Brinker added (via SI.com’s Albert Breer) that Borgonzi will lead Tennessee’s free agency effort as well. Borgonzi confirmed this, via ESPN.com’s Turron Davenport, classifying Brinker as having the tiebreaker. This is a similar setup to the Seahawks’ long-running Pete Carroll–John Schneider arrangement, where the HC held the tiebreaker while the GM made the acquisitions.
Although Brinker classified Carthon as a friend, the team president said the Titans’ free agency strategy last year lacked some discipline. Carthon’s second offseason as GM involved a number of big-ticket contracts handed out. The team signed the likes of Calvin Ridley, Lloyd Cushenberry, Chidobe Awuzie and Tony Pollard before trading for L’Jarius Sneed and giving him $44MM at signing. Awuzie, Sneed and Cushenberry missed much of the season due to injuries, with Ridley and Pollard’s 1,000-yard showings unable to do much for Will Levis‘ development.
Carthon’s leadership notwithstanding, Brinker was certainly a key player in Tennessee’s 2024 strategy. He will be given another chance. The draft will be the centerpiece area for the Titans, who have seen Levis’ struggles create a quarterback need. Although Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders will be closely linked to the Titans at No. 1, in all likelihood, Brinker added (via Titans.com’s Jim Wyatt) the team will not force a quarterback over “a generational talent” at 1.
That path is a bit more interesting this year, as neither Sanders nor Ward are viewed as players who would have been candidates to infiltrate the Caleb Williams–Jayden Daniels–Drake Maye top three of 2024. But two-way phenom Travis Hunter will be available. The Colorado product is a mortal lock to go in the top five, with cornerback being viewed early as his most likely NFL position (though, that is not yet set). Still, Hunter being deemed a far superior prospect to Sanders and Ward would put the Titans to a fascinating decision — one that would please the QB-needy Browns and Giants (at Nos. 2 and 3).
Amy Adams Strunk‘s fingerprints are the clearest on the Titans’ mid-2020s decline. The owner fired GM Jon Robinson months after giving him an extension. Disagreements with Mike Vrabel led Adams Strunk to fire the former Coach of the Year following the 2023 season. The Titans are now in rebuild mode, only with a number of Carthon-approved contracts on their books for the 2025 campaign.
Brinker acknowledged the Titans’ front office hierarchy is “unique,” though he indicated Borgonzi will still carry considerable authority. Adams Strunk, however, does not want too much say on football matters, Kuharsky adds, further cementing Brinker as the organization’s current cornerstone decision-maker.
Borgonzi’s presence notwithstanding, it will be on the former Packers exec to make the final calls on a Hunter-or-QB decision at No. 1. With Adams Strunk firing two GMs and a head coach between December 2022 and January 2025, Brinker may well be moving toward a hot seat. Thus far, though, he has survived during the team’s decline.
This should go well.