Titans to Restructure Org Chart Ahead of Coaching Hire

Tennessee is once again looking for a new head coach and wants to have a front office setup that puts that person in the best position to succeed.

Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk is set to oversee a differently structured front office. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

Amid a second head-coaching search in three years, the Titans are undergoing significant change in their front-office, in an effort to clean up their structure for the guy coming in.

As part of it, Tennessee is shifting final say over the 53-man roster from president of football operations Chad Brinker to general manager Mike Borgonzi. Borgonzi has also been empowered to lead the search for a head coach, per sources. Borgonzi and Brinker will report to owner Amy Adams Strunk, with the plan being that the new coach will report to Borgonzi.

Since Borgonzi was hired last January, the structure had been that the coach—first Brian Callahan and now interim coach Mike McCoy—reported to Borgonzi, with Borgonzi reporting to Brinker. The restructure will bring things closer to the way it was for Brinker and Borgonzi at their previous homes—Green Bay and Kansas City, respectively.

The idea is for Borgonzi to build the team, Brinker to manage football operations (outside of scouting) and the coach to build the on-field product.

The Titans have discussed these changes in the weeks since Callahan’s October firing, looking for a setup that would cater more to the strengths of those involved, and be attractive to the best coaching candidates—a big change after the tumult of the last three years.

As for the coaching search, the Titans are expected to cast a relatively wide net, and bring in former head coaches like Matt Nagy, Vance Joseph and Robert Saleh, as well as promising young assistants like Packers DC Jeff Hafley and Rams DC Chris Shula, for interviews. The team also took a hard look at Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman, who agreed to an extension to stay in South Bend earlier in the week.

In the room for the first round of Zoom interviews will be Borgonzi, Brinker, assistant GM Dave Ziegler, VP/football advisor Reggie McKenzie and vice president of player personnel Dan Saganey. Strunk will likely meet the finalists during the second round of interviews, which will take place in person.

The Titans’ recent history would give prospective candidates some pause. The team fired former GM Jon Robinson in December 2022, and hired Ran Carthon as GM and Brinker as assistant GM one month later. A year after that, Tennessee fired head coach Mike Vrabel, had Brinker leap-frog Carthon on the org chart and hired Callahan as coach. Then last January, Carthon was fired and Borgonzi was hired, which preceded Callahan’s firing.

Strunk will have final say over the coaching hire, but is likely to lean on Borgonzi’s recommendation.

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