NASHVILLE – The Titans have parted ways with General Manager Ran Carthon.
The team announced the decision on Tuesday, two days after the team finished the 2024 season with a 3-14 record.
Over the past two seasons, the Titans have a combined record of 9-25.
President of Football Operations Chad Brinker will lead the search for a new general manager. Brian Callahan will continue in his role as head coach.
Tennessee Titans Controlling Owner Amy Adams Strunk informed Carthon this morning that the team will be making a change at GM.
"I've loved the time I've spent with Ran. He's a talented football mind, a great man, and friend to everyone along his path," Strunk said in the statement. "It's impossible to ignore that our football team hasn't improved over the past two years. I am deeply disappointed in our poor win-loss record during this period, of course, but my decision also speaks to my concern about our long-term future should we stay the course.
"I love this team more than you can imagine. To our fans: we know this level of performance isn't acceptable. We're humbled by your support as we continue to work towards building the team you expect and deserve."
The Titans are scheduled to pick first overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, and the team will have a significant amount of salary cap space heading into an offseason when a number of positions need to be upgraded.
On Tuesday morning, President and CEO Burke Nihill addressed why the changes are needed while Brinker detailed what he's looking for in the team's next general manager.
Results, and a different dynamic in the building, contributed to the decision, Nihill said.
"We just haven't improved this football team for the last couple of years," Nihill said. "We've won nine of the 34 games we've played over the past two seasons, and as much as the record was concerning to Amy as it was to all of our fans, her assessment was also that we're not on course to get where we need to go moving forward. As difficult as these decisions are, she believed it was the right one.
"Speaking of a change of the general manager specifically, Ran was hired into a very different job description than the one that exists today. Ran was hired for a general manager position that was very specific to the circumstances at the time, and the forecasting was the general manager would be able to partner very closely with the head coach, the existing head coach, and as the circumstances exists today, the general manager position is different. And so, what Chad, who is leading the search, will be looking for is a very different skill set for a very different job description."
Carthon was hired by the team on January 18, 2023, when Mike Vrabel served as head coach. He was promoted to Executive Vice President/General Manager last year, and his duties were expanded to include all areas that impact the football team: roster control, team activities and personnel decisions including draft and free agency acquisitions.
"Ran had very different circumstances over the last two years in terms of his role," Nihill said. "At the end of the day, this is a results-oriented business. Amy's assessment is we needed to make a change."
Brinker was promoted to President of Football Operations last offseason, a new role for the organization. In 2024, Brinker provided executive leadership and support for the entire football side of the organization. His day-to-day responsibilities have included direct oversight of the football departments that addresses salary cap management; analytics and strategy; communications and information systems, among other responsibilities. Brinker also provided scouting evaluations of top talent in both college and the NFL.
Brinker joined the team in February 2023 as Assistant General Manager, Strategy after spending 13 seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
Brinker spelled out what he'll be looking for in a new GM.
"I think the general manager position is unique to their respective organizations," Brinker said. "This particular job, what we'll be looking for is someone who has spent their career as a scout, is a top-flight, top-level evaluator who has spent the majority of their career projecting college players to the National Football League, they've had a major hand in setting the draft board in preferably a consistent, winning organization, and you can see their fingerprints all over the roster.
"It is someone who wakes up every single day and the only thing they think about is building a roster, evaluating players, watching tape, working with the coaching staff. And, not just someone who knows how to collect talent, but someone who really understands how to build a team and how all the pieces fit together that I can work with not only in the short term, winning today, but building for the future, the long term, and understanding how all those pieces fit together. If you make a decision here, how it impacts a decision down the road, and really understand the full puzzle.
"At the end of the day, this person is going to be all ball, all day. They are going to focus on the roster and the coaching staff, and I'll continue in my role with handling all the other areas that surround the center of our program, scouting and coaches. So, I will support that person. But we are looking for a general manager who wakes up every day and is focused on building the team."
Ultimately, Brinker, Callahan and the new general manager will work together to make decisions.
Nihill said Brinker will "break ties" with respect to the 53-man roster.
"It is important to Amy to have absolute clarity in the football organization." Nihill said. "And so, while the general manager position will have a primary responsibility on all these things Chad is describing in terms of the day-to-day of overseeing the roster and the coaching staff, Chad is the leader of the football program, so Chad will be the final authority on all football matters, including the roster."
Brinker reiterated the group will work in unison.
Brinker said the team will be "aggressive" in finding the next GM. He'll look at a diverse pool of candidates, he said, from people he's worked with in the past to those he hasn't. He's open to former general managers who've had success in the league, to those he considers rising stars in the league.
"The person that we're going to be looking for is going to fit within the philosophy and how we're going to build this program going forward," Brinker said. "I look at this partnership as one heartbeat. We're going to be working together on all things. At the end of the day, we're all going to work together collectively, and work through: What is the best decision for the Tennessee Titans? So, if there is a situation, I want healthy debate so we can make the best decision we can make. All egos aside, it's about what is best for the team.
"I'm going to allow our (new) general manager to do his job, and set free agency strategy and draft strategy, build a roster, and I'll be right there with him."
