HEADLINES

Ted Sundquist

South Notes: Titans, McDermott, Falcons

January 29th, 2016 at 3:16pm CST by Luke Adams

In a fascinating piece for Bleacher Report, former Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist shared some details about his recent interview for the Titans‘ GM position, explaining what he would have done during his first days, weeks, and months on the job if he had been hired by the club.

The entire piece is worth reading, and features a handful of interesting tidbits from Sundquist, who writes that there were some indications that Titans ownership, which wanted to retain head coach Mike Mularkey and stay the course within the front office, “wasn’t necessarily looking for a complete diagnosis of its problems.”

Here’s more Friday reading from around the NFL’s South divisions:

  • Albert Breer of the NFL Network echoes what Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller reported earlier today, writing that the Titans are “very open to the idea” of shopping the first overall pick. However, Breer cautions that the Titans still want to walk away from the draft with an elite prospect, so there will be a limit to how far the team is willing to trade down. A handful of clubs picking between 11 and 15 could be in the market for a quarterback, but that would be a long way for those teams to move up, and a long way for Tennessee to move down, says Breer.
  • While the Buccaneers ultimately opted to name Dirk Koetter their new head coach, Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott interviewed “very, very well” with Tampa Bay, according to Breer. McDermott figures to be a strong candidate for a head coaching job in 2017.
  • Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff acknowledged that 2016 feels like a make-or-break year for him, though he added the caveat that he views every year that way, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.
  • Dimitroff also suggested that the Falcons will continue to shop for discounts and values in free agency rather than making a big splash, and said the team has yet to make a decision on Roddy White‘s future, as D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution details in a pair of articles.

Titans Interview Ted Sundquist For GM Job

January 7th, 2016 at 4:17pm CST by Luke Adams

In a press release, the Titans have confirmed that they interviewed Giants vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross today for their general manager position, a meeting that had been previously reported. Within that same release, the Titans also announced that they’ve completed an interview with former Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist, whose candidacy hadn’t been reported yet this week.

[RELATED: Patriots OC Josh McDaniels interested in Titans’ head coaching job]

Sundquist, who met with Titans owners Amy Adams Strunk and Kenneth Adams IV, as well as team president Steve Underwood, served as the Broncos’ GM from 2002 to 2008, with the team earning three postseason berths during that stint. Sundquist was also working for the franchise as its director of college scouting when Denver won back-to-back Super Bowls in the late 1990s.

The Titans have now brought in three candidates for interviews for their GM job, with Ross and Sundquist joining former Lions GM Martin Mayhew. Tennessee will continue the process on Friday, when Buccaneers director of player personnel Jon Robinson is scheduled to come in and meet with the team.

Chiefs director of football operations Chris Ballard and Jaguars director of player personnel Chris Polian are also expected to interview for the Titans’ GM vacancy, and the team has requested interviews with multiple candidates who have either already turned down the opportunity or are expected to do so. In other words, it appears Tennessee is casting a wide net as the club considers possible replacements for Ruston Webster.