Chad Brinker had managed a promotion despite being part of two sub-.500 Titans teams, but the current Tennessee football ops president will now see his role reduced.
The Titans are increasing GM Mike Borgonzi‘s responsibilities. Ahead of his second year as GM, Borgonzi will now control the Titans’ 53-man roster, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. Both Borgonzi and Brinker will report to owner Amy Adams Strunk, while Rapoport adds the next Titans HC will report to Borgonzi. Strunk has since confirmed in a statement both execs will report to her.
The timing here reminds of 2024, when Strunk gave Ran Carthon full roster control. She fired Carthon a year later. Brinker was originally hired as Carthon’s assistant GM, but he stayed on following the GM’s January 2025 ouster. Strunk gave Brinker roster control upon firing Carthon. Now, Borgonzi will lead the way as the team searches for another HC.
Borgonzi previously reported to Brinker, but after another woeful Tennessee season, another shakeup is coming. The Titans hired Borgonzi as GM, and while he ran the draft last year, the former Chiefs exec still did not report directly to ownership — as most GMs do. That will change, perhaps complicating Tennessee’s power structure. While changes of this sort have become commonplace under Strunk, shaking up the front office after a three- or four-win season certainly makes sense.
“Over the past few years, several job descriptions in our football organization were established to address specific situations and challenges that existed at the time,” Strunk said in a letter to fans (via TennesseeTitans.com’s Jim Wyatt). “After working together for the past year, they believe – and I agree – there is a long-term benefit to clarifying and honing the focus areas of our football leadership.
“For that reason, we’re returning to a front office that feels more straightforward to them and me. Going forward, Mike will serve as general manager in the most traditional sense – pick and support the players, oversee the coaching staff – while Chad will continue to lead everything else about the football team.”
Strunk said Borgonzi will lead the HC search, while Brinker will over see cap management, analytics and other departments. Some teams have football ops presidents or VPs in addition to GMs, though many simply go with an owner-GM-HC workflow. The Titans technically have an additional exec in the mix, but with the next full-time coach to report to Borgonzi, an owner-GM-HC flow will be in place for the struggling AFC South franchise.
The Titans had a fairly stable setup in place for more than six years, with Mike Vrabel and Jon Robinson aligned from 2016 through Robinson’s December 2022 firing. Strunk had extended both Vrabel and Robinson earlier that year. Instability has defined the Titans since.
Vrabel received more control post-Robinson and wanted interim GM Ryan Cowden to be given the full-time job. Strunk disagreed and eventually butted heads with her successful HC, who later desired full roster control. Strunk then fired him (rather than trading his rights) and elevating Carthon — hired over Vrabel’s objections — within the organization. A year after the Carthon-over-Vrabel decision, Strunk replaced her GM with Borgonzi.
Brinker was elevated during this time, with the team’s other assistant GM — Anthony Robinson — being fired last year. The Titans then fired Carthon HC hire Brian Callahan. They went 1-5 under Callahan this season and are now 2-8 under interim leader Mike McCoy.
The Tians have sunk to the NFL’s basement over the past four years, with Vrabel’s final two beginning the descent. That said, Tennessee has gone 6-27 since firing Vrabel, who is among the Coach of the Year frontrunners after immediately revitalizing the Patriots. The Titans, meanwhile, hold a minus-160 point differential. That is the second-worst number (behind only 2014) since the franchise relocated from Houston in 1997. Set to hold another high pick, Tennessee will hope its latest change can steer an improvement.