Tennessee Titans General Manager Candidates

Useful information about all of the Tennessee Titans General Manager Candidates

Jan 13, 2025

∙ Paid

All of our content is powered by you, our paid subscribers! No corporate overlords. No sponsorships (except Senior Bowl). Nothing. What we can and can’t do is up to you! Our goal is to bring you the most unique coverage of the sport we love, football, with a Tennessee Titans spin. So, please, share and subscribe! It’s only $5/month!

So, last Tuesday, the Tennessee Titans fired Ran Carthon and thus begins the third general manager search for the team since 2023. It’s more than likely all a show, too. Chad Brinker is running the process and has final say, so, it may look like an in-depth process where they’re casting a wide net, but he will insulate himself with people he trusts.

I don’t blame him. The erratic behavior of ownership shows that is the best path forward, and let’s be honest, the buddy hiring system is a league-wide thing. If it works everyone’s happy. If it sucks everyone’s likely fired.

Think about it though, Ran Carthon didn’t do that. He went out and “assembled an All-Star Staff”, according to Brinker himself, and that staff largely had no ties to Carthon. He kept on the existing scouting staff as well, and that did him no favors. You have to play the game in the NFL. It’s like Survivor and Carthon was done in by Operation: Music City. He was essentially playing the game like Teeny and Sue and he ended up walking away with nothing to show for it.

That’s life in the NFL. So, sure, they may look like they’re casting a wide net and going through the proper processes, but I’d be surprised if all roads didn’t lead to Jon-Eric Sullivan. That may not be necessarily a bad thing, and yes, maybe this all works out. What’s just as important is what they choose to do underneath the new “GM that’s Assistant GM” and the “de facto GM that’s Team President”. More on the later when we talk about one of the candidates.

Interview Schedule

Alright, let’s give you an updated list of where the Round One interviews/candidates are at (its also a table of contents…hopefully):

Interviewed Friday (All Virtual)

Interviewed Saturday (All Virtual)

Requested, Not Scheduled (as of this writing)

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Vice President Player Personnel, Green Bay Packers

“General Manager” Job Description

Look, when you don’t have final say, it is hard to truly call this guy a general manager. In my opinion, the way they’re setting this up is not really as common as they would have you to believe. In fact, it is tough to really find another franchise with a clear set-up like this. The Detroit Lions may have it set-up like this, but they don’t tell anyone publicly it is.

However, we do have the idea of some rough requirements that Brinker is looking for and what the role is this new hire will fulfill. Here’s what we know about the power structure: Head Coach reports to the “General Manager” who reports to Chad Brinker.

Job Duties:

Implements the Free Agency and Draft strategies
Oversees the coaching staff
Oversees the personnel staff
Integrates coaching into the scouting process

Job Primary Qualification:

Career as a scout
Top-flight, top-level talent evaluator
Major hand in setting a draft board
Preferably in a consistent, winning organization
See fingerprints all over the roster

Important to note: when I go through our qualification checklist for each candidate, it will mainly regard their seasons during their highest position held.

So, let’s dive into the candidates.

Reggie McKenzie

I really just want to put: “Hell No.” and call it a day, but I at least want to explain why they would be utterly foolish to put McKenzie in charge of what they want to do. People will see: “Oh, he’s experienced!” or “He is the guy that drafted Khalil Mack!” They’re what we call here “non-ball knowers”. You never use one guy from 59 players drafted as a way to define success.

Job History (31 NFL Seasons)

Green Bay Packers
- Pro Personnel Assistant (1994-1996)
- Pro Personnel Director (1997-2007)
- Director of Football Operations (2008-2011)
Oakland Raiders
- General Manager (2012 - 2018)
Miami Dolphins
- Senior Personnel Executive (2019 - Current)

Qualification Checklist:

Career as a scout
~~Top-flight, top-level talent evaluator~~
Major hand in setting a draft board
~~Preferably in a consistent, winning organization~~
See fingerprints all over the roster

Here are the number of draft picks by year:

2012: 6
2013: 10
2014: 8
2015: 10
2016: 7
2017: 9
2018: 9
Total: 59 picks

Pro Bowlers Drafted (4/59): Latavius Murray, Khalil Mack, Derek Carr, Amari Cooper

All-Pros Drafted (1/59): Khalil Mack

Concerning Stat: Besides the low hit rate, out of 16 players drafted in the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Only two are still active in the NFL.

What to Know: Reggie McKenzie has loads of experience, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he was hired for another role in this organization, similiar to what maybe Anthony Robinson was or to what he has now in Miami.

However, his time and experience as a General Manager for the Raiders was so underwhelming. His hiring wouldn’t lead to sustained success. He led the Raiders to an overall record of 40-72.

If he were hired it is because he serves as no threat to Brinker’s power and Brinker would likely do everything. However, if Brinker is wanting an extension of himself, someone that can do all of the work: grinding, traveling, scouting, etc…this wouldn’t be the guy in my opinion.

Thomas Dimitroff

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Stacking The Inbox to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.