The Titans Continue to Clean House, but What’s the Plan?

The Titans Have Two Issues at Hand: Picking a New GM, and What to Do With the 1st Pick in Next Season’s Draft

· Jan 08 - 6 minutes read

Looking for a Dumpster Fire? Meet the Tennessee Titans

Let’s paint a pretty picture for a second. It’s week 18, the last weekend of regular season NFL games is going down, and to no surprise, the Tennessee Titans lose their season finisher against the Houston Texans at home.

Hold on, I’m getting to the pretty part.

The Titans Continue to Clean House, but What’s the Plan? — General Manager Ran Carthon of the Tennessee Titans | Wesley Hitt/Getty Images/AFP

Thanks to the New England Patriots scoring a “W” at home against the Buffalo Bills, the Titans would end up the season landing the coveted No.1 pick of next season’s NFL draft.

Titans clinch No. 1 overall pick in 2025 NFL Draft with loss to Texans, Patriots’ win over Bills.https://t.co/AMFnGJqIBs pic.twitter.com/mBUvIWXYLc

— NFL Draft (@NFLDraft) January 5, 2025

For a second, all was well in Tennessee. Now fast forward to this past Tuesday when an NFL news bomb was dropped in Titans camp as the team’s Controlling Owner, Amy Adams Strunk, informed General Manager, I mean former GM Ran Carthon, that the team would be making a definitive change at the position.

In short, Carlton was fired.

Titans part ways with GM Ran Carthon. pic.twitter.com/u53FPCx5gB

— NFL (@NFL) January 7, 2025

Yes, just two days after securing the No.1 pick in the draft, the Titans decided to get rid of their GM and embark on a quest to find a new suitor for the position, all while speculations and NFL rumors are starting to swirl around as to what the team should do with their pick.

It’s a given the team needs a change in the quarterback position. But what about everything else in the organization? Besides a couple of salvageable players, the Titans are a pile of crap, steaming, underperforming, lackluster crap.

We’re talking about a team that went from being the No.1 seed in the AFC in 2021 to being a literal dumpster fire.

Talk about a definitive way to remember the Titans.

Is Anybody Up for a GM Job in Tennessee?

When thinking about the Titans, regression is the only word that describes their tenure in the past couple of years.

Going from NFL picks and predictions darlings to jokes shows what happens when you can’t find a balance between what goes on in the offices and on the field.

Which team’s year-to-year performance surprises you the most? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/LyoRZdLxfP

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 6, 2025

Simply put, this is not a team that’s a new GM and a No.1 draft pick away from bouncing back and becoming contenders. There is much more work to be done before even thinking there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

This may sound simple, but the Titans need to choose a direction as a franchise.

They spent massive in free agency last year, acting like a team that felt it was on the precipice of competing for the playoffs: signing Calvin Ridley, Lloyd Cushenberry, trading for L’Jarius…

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 7, 2025

Digging into Tennessee’s current state, though, isn’t it funny how this whole Carlton getting fired schtick feels like it’s already been played?

Remember when former coach Mike Vrabel found out former GM Jon Robinson was dealing AJ Brown away to the Philadelphia Eagles on the first day of the 2022 draft?

Robinson would go on to get fired in the middle of the 2022 season and Carlton would be brought in to try and salvage an already sinking ship.

Carlton would go on to beef with Vrabel, leading to the coach’s dismissal, as the Titans continued to sink as fast as possible.

Head coach Brian Callahan would be hired to take over, and now, with Carlton fired, the only person left is Callahan and former assistant GM, now President of Football Operations for the Team Chad Brinker.

Remember that name, Chad Brinker.

While names for potential GM candidates have started to surge, like Lance Newmark, assistant GM with the Washington Commanders, Brandon Brown, assistant GM with the New York Giants, and Ray Agnew, assistant GM with the Detroit Lions, why does this all feel like this is Brinker’s job to take?

President of Football Operations Chad Brinker shares his vision for a @Titans turnaround.

“If we truly want to be one of those elite franchises in the National Football League, I firmly believe this is the path that we need to follow.”

ICYMI https://t.co/3DJJ3Aukmk pic.twitter.com/IZDaEOo0ks

— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) January 8, 2025

Will Brinker end up taking over the GM spot? I’m no future-reading expert here, but his betting odds look better by the minute.

With 1st Overall Pick the Titans Select…

Even if the draft is still some time away, I can hear Roger Goodell in the back of my head saying: “With the first pick in the 2025 Draft…” The question is, who will the Titans end up picking?

First and foremost, as previously mentioned, it doesn’t matter who the Titans pick or their NFL schedule for next season if they can’t manage to get their act together. By getting their act together, I mean building a completely different football culture from the ground up.

Understanding that teams are built around QBs, the debate now arises about who would be a better fit for Tennessee, Miami’s Cam Ward, or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders.

The word around Tennessee is that the team’s execs (the ones still with a job) have their minds set and done on Sanders being the chosen one. And in all fairness, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea. If I were a Titans fan, I would not be upset about that pick.

Every person I talk to in Tennessee would LOVE to see Shedeur Sanders on the Titans 👀#CoachReedLive🎙️ pic.twitter.com/pfdQvL1u4n

— Carl Reed Jr. (@CoachReedLive) January 8, 2025

Plus, Sanders doesn’t seem opposed to potentially joining the team. Even if he was seen rocking New York Giants colors in his last game with CU, going first seems what matters most for Deion Sanders’ son.