George Walker IV / Tennessean.com, Nashville Tennessean via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Owner Speaks Out on Decision to Fire GM
Amy Adams Strunk wants people to fear the Tennessee Titans.
As such, she is not afraid to make difficult decisions, such as this week’s move to fire general manager Jon Robinson after six-plus highly successful seasons.
“I told the fans from the very beginning that I want to win it all and I want to be one of those elite teams that people are always scared of, and it’s my responsibility,” Strunk told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Friday. “And eventually it’s up to me to make those kind of decisions that get us there.”
Strunk has been the Titans’ controlling owner – the final voice in all matters involving the NFL franchise – since 2015. Within her first 12 months on the job she fired coach Ken Whisenhunt and general manager Ruston Webster. Whisenhunt was relieved of his duties seven games into the 2015 season, immediately following a 20-6 loss at Houston, the owner’s hometown.
Robinson was hired in 2016 and led Tennessee to six straight winning seasons, four playoff appearances and two division titles. He was fired on Tuesday, with this season’s team at 7-5, firmly in control of the AFC South and seemingly on its way to another postseason appearance.
The decision to make a change, she said, was made prior to Sunday’s 35-10 loss at Philadelphia, a game in which former Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown caught eight passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
“I’d already made my decision,” Strunk told The AP. “A.J. had a great game. More power to him, but that didn’t actually have anything to do with that.”
She seemingly contradicted herself on that point, though, when she asserted that she moved quickly after she came to the conclusion that change was necessary.
“Once I made the decision, I was like, ’I can’t sit on it. I’ve got to go ahead and do it to be fair to Jon,'" she said. "I don’t know how many weeks we have left in the season. There could be a lot more hopefully in our season, and it just didn’t seem like the right thing to do to drag this along.”
According to The AP, she summarily dismissed the notion that she was out of the loop on notable decisions, such as the trade that sent Brown to Philadelphia in April, or that coach Mike Vrabel issued any sort of “him or me” ultimatum.
Robinson hired Vrabel in 2018 and oversaw draft classes that produced franchise cornerstones such as Derrick Henry and Kevin Byard (2016), Harold Landry (2018) and Jeffery Simmons (2019). His willingness and ability to make deals landed quarterback Ryan Tannehill, running back DeMarco Murray and others.
His 2020 and 2021 draft classes produced remarkably little, though. Likewise, recent high-profile acquisitions via free agency (e.g. Jadeveon Clowney and Vic Beasley) or trades (e.g. Julio Jones) did not work out as planned.
On balance, Strunk decided it was time for change.
“At the end of the day, I’ve got to make hard decisions,” she said.
