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Ran Carthon given authority over Tennessee Titans' roster, Brian Callahan's new coaching staff
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- Ran Carthon given authority over Tennessee Titans' roster, Brian Callahan's new coaching staff
There will be no more ambiguity about who has the final say over the Tennessee Titans ' roster.
It'll be general manager Ran Carthon.
Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk has promoted Carthon, the team confirmed Wednesday, and his title of executive vice president carries an expansion of duties "to include all areas that impact the football team." That'll mean control of the Titans' roster, draft picks, free agency, team activities, scouting and sports medicine.
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It'll also include oversight of newly hired coach Brian Callahan and his coaching staff.
"Over the past year, Ran has impressed me and our staff with his innovative approach to roster building," Adams Strunk said in a statement. "Ran's exceptional reputation around the league as a talent evaluator and culture builder was a clear competitive advantage during last year's free agency and draft process, as well as our recent search for a head coach."
In addition to Carthon, Adams Strunk has promoted team executive Chad Brinker into the newly created role of president of football operations.
By clarifying the team's power structure publicly, Adams Strunk fulfilled the promise she made to do so upon firing coach Mike Vrabel on Jan. 9.
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Such clarity was lacking this past season .
After hiring Carthon after the 2022 season, Adams Strunk left open the question as to whether the GM or Vrabel would have roster control. At the time, Vrabel favored Ryan Cowden – the interim GM after Jon Robinson's 2022 firing – to become the full-time GM, sources have told The Tennessean . Vrabel reported to Adams Strunk, not Carthon.
ESTES: Why was Mike Vrabel fired? How the Titans got to this point
Internal disharmony became the backdrop for a disappointing 2023 Titans season. After a 6-11 finish, Adams Strunk fired Vrabel.
She had decided to grant Carthon authority over the next coach before Callahan was hired this week.
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"By expanding his role to include full roster control and oversight of the coaching staff," Adams Strunk said of Carthon, "our organization will now benefit more completely from Ran's unique ability to build and lead a championship-caliber football team."
Adams Strunk has long favored the idea of the team's GM, rather than the coach, being in charge of football operations.
But her moves of late have also reflected a larger goal to modernize the Titans' football operations, which is perhaps best represented by Brinker's expanded role.
The Titans initially hired Brinker, who'd been with the Green Bay Packers , in February 2023 to be Carthon's assistant general manager and launch analytics efforts like an artificial intelligence model to help predict player injuries . Brinker will now have "direct oversight of football departments that address salary cap management, analytics and strategy," the Titans said, in addition to other areas of "communications and information systems."
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"This is not my father's NFL," Adams Strunk said. "As our league continues to evolve in areas like analytics, sports science, and technology, football organizations have become more complex and multifaceted. I want our football operation to be at the forefront of the NFL as teams continue to find new competitive advantages."
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Ran Carthon given authority over Tennessee Titans' roster, new coaches
