Chad Brinker, president of football operations for the Tennessee Titans, has been tasked with finding a new general manager after the team decided to part ways with Ran Carthon after just two seasons.
The team that won six games in Carthon's first season as GM recorded half as many wins in his second year, which Amy Adams Strunk cited as the reason for his departure.
Brinker joined the Titans in 2023 as Carthon's assistant general manager and was promoted to his current position at the end of the 2023 season. This came in (almost) the same breath as the firing of Mike Vrabel, while Carthon continued as general manager.
Brinker and Carthon seemed to have a closer relationship than ever before, even Brinker proverb that something immediately “clicked” with them and they largely agreed.
So what happened in 2024 to change all that? Brian Callahan became head coach and Will Levis became starting quarterback. And remember: Brinker helped draft Levis in 2023 and was certainly involved in Callahan's hiring.
But Carthon has taken the heat of all the failures in 2024, and the Titans' messages have become unclear and unclear.
Charles Robinson and Dianna Russini said people around the league told them that Chad was the “GM.”
Robinson said since Chad was promoted
Russini said every time players/trades were discussed with teams, “They're doing business with Chad.”
But all movements are “Rans”
— Zach Lyons (@TheZachLyons) January 10, 2025
And it appears that Brinker will have the final say on all personnel decisions in the future. So what power will a new general manager really have? It's so unclear that even the NFL took its time approving the Titans' job posting.
I'm glad the post was approved. But the fact that it was a real GM position in the first place just doesn't look good. #Titans https://t.co/SFkp4VDW0S
– Titans Tribe (@TitansTribe) January 10, 2025
Because the Titans want to give Brinker the “decisive coordination” between Callahan and the new general manager when it comes to personnel decisions.
From the outside looking in, it appears that Brinker has all the power over the Titans' player personnel and that whoever comes in as general manager will just be a face. The way the organization handles this will not end well because who wants this job? No one wants to be the person who comes in, has no power, and then is the scapegoat when everything falls apart.
The Titans need to do better. And if the GM is to have actual power, he needs to be very clear about where those boundaries lie and what his actual responsibilities are.
