Titans clarify football structure after promoting Carthon, Brinker

On Wednesday, the Titans revealed the structure of decision-making moving forward.

The Tennessee Titans announced a trio of moves on Wednesday, with two of them giving clarity as to the structure in which the Titans will operate.

On top of making the Brian Callahan hiring official, the Titans also promoted general manager Ran Carthon by adding executive vice president to his job title, and assistant general manager Chad Brinker is now the president of football operations, a brand new position in Nashville.

Here’s an explanation of what the new title means for Carthon, per the team:

As Executive Vice President/General Manager, Carthon’s duties will expand to include all areas that impact the football team: roster control, team activities and personnel decisions including draft and free agency acquisitions, oversight of Callahan and his coaching staff, scouting, sports medicine, and player engagement.

And here’s an explanation for what Brinker’s role will include:

As President of Football Operations, a new role for the organization, Brinker will provide executive leadership and support for the entire football side of the organization. His day-to-day responsibilities will include direct oversight of the football departments that address salary cap management; analytics and strategy; communications and information systems; and team operations including security, video, equipment, and grounds. Brinker will also continue to provide scouting evaluations of top talent in both college and the NFL.

“Over the past year, Ran has impressed me and our staff with his innovative approach to roster building,” Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk said. “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. Simply put, Ran Carthon makes the Tennessee Titans a destination for the league’s top talent. By expanding his role to include full roster control and oversight of the coaching staff, our organization will now benefit more completely from Ran’s unique ability to build and lead a championship-caliber football team.”

“This is not my father’s NFL,” Adams Strunk added. “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. In this new role, Chad will blend his executive experience with his strengths in football and scouting to ensure our football operation continues to innovate and grow as new opportunities emerge. Chad’s oversight of these areas will allow Ran to focus his full attention and energy on building and leading a championship football team.”

So, the Titans are officially handing the keys to the car to Carthon who, along with Brinker and his analytics model, will ensure that this team takes a more modern and innovative approach moving forward.

That’s significant because the Titans were one of the last teams in the NFL to embrace analytics before Carthon arrived. Now, they’re trying to be at the forefront.

As for Callahan, the Titans will officially announce him in a press conference set to take place on Thursday at 1 p.m. CST .

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Titans’ Ran Carthon, Mike Vrabel talk WR situation, Day 3 picks, more

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and GM Ran Carthon talked their Day 3 picks, the situation at wide receiver, and more.

After the Tennessee Titans culminated the 2023 NFL draft with a total of three selections on Day 3, head coach Mike Vrabel and general manager Ran Carthon met with the media to discuss the picks, and the class as a whole.

Tennessee added offensive tackles Peter Skoronski (Round 1) and Jaelyn Duncan (Round 6), quarterback Will Levis (Round 2), running back Tyjae Spears (Round 3), tight end Josh Whyle (Round 5), and wideout Colton Dowell (Round 7).

The obvious trend with this group is that every player is an offensive one. As much as we aren’t happy with the direction at wide receiver, at least Carthon and Vrabel went heavy on the side of the ball that needed the most help.

Carthon said taking all offensive players didn’t dawn on him until after the draft was done.

Along with Carthon and Vrabel, assistant general manager Chad Brinker spoke to the media for the first time since coming aboard this offseason. Check out what each had to say below about several topics below.

Titans assistant GM Chad Brinker ‘on another level’ with analytics

Titans assistant GM Chad Brinker has quite the impressive resumé when it comes to analytics.

Former Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson wasn’t big on analytics during his tenure in Nashville, but new general manager Ran Carthon appears set to have a different approach.

Back in January, Carthon talked about his use of analytics while with the San Francisco 49ers and made it clear they would play a part when the team is evaluating players.

Another example of the team’s intent to use analytics more was the hiring of assistant general manager Chad Brinker, who came to Tennessee after 13 years with the Green Bay Packers.

According to Carthon, Brinker is “on another level” with analytics and has even created his own model.

“[Brinker is] a guy that Green Bay thought enough of to pay for him to get his executive MBA from Northwestern,” Carthon revealed to the Official Titans Podcast. “So, not only does he go and get his executive MBA, but through the course of getting the MBA he meets with some guys that are in the tech space and he creates his own AI model for injuries and cap studies.

“So he figures out a way to create these models that he owns the IP (intellectual property) for, and so wherever he goes he can bring that IP with him,” Carthon added. “And, again, it allows us to grow in a space that we’re trying to evolve to, which is in the analytics department… I have an understanding of analytics because coming from where I’m coming from, but he’s on another level than I am, and so that’s an area where he’s going to be a strength to our organization.”

Brinker wore different hats during his 13 years in Green Bay, doing everything from scouting players to working on the salary cap.

So, not only will Brinker bring his expertise of analytics to Nashville, he’ll also be someone Tennessee can rely on as it tries to navigate a tight salary cap situation this offseason.

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Titans’ Ran Carthon talks hiring Chad Brinker as assistant GM

The Titans made the hire of assistant GM Chad Brinker official on Tuesday.

The Tennessee Titans made the hire of assistant general manager Chad Brinker official on Tuesday, and along with it released a statement from general manager Ran Carthon.

Brinker comes over from the Green Bay Packers, where he served as the team’s personnel/football administration executive for the past two seasons.

“Chad brings a unique skill set to our franchise,” Carthon said, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “He has touched every facet of the personnel department – working in pro personnel, college scouting, cap management and analytics. We are excited to add his knowledge and experience to our evolving personnel group.”

Here’s more on Brinker, per the Packers’ official website:

Chad Brinker enters his 13th season with the Packers and second as personnel/football administration executive. He was promoted to his current position on Jan. 22, 2021, after spending three seasons as assistant director of pro scouting/salary cap analyst. Brinker originally came to Green Bay as a scouting assistant in January 2010 before spending six seasons (2012-17) as a pro scout.

As both his bio and Carthon highlight, Brinker brings a wealth of different experiences to the position, but the one that jumps out at me the most is his past salary cap analyst role, which will be helpful for the cash-strapped Titans.

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Titans hiring Chad Brinker as assistant general manager

The Titans are hiring Packers executive Chad Brinker as their new assistant GM.

Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon has reportedly found his right-hand man, with the team set to hire Green Bay Packers executive Chad Brinker as the assistant general manager.

The news comes from MMQB’s Albert Breer. Brinker previously held the title of personnel/football administration executive with the Packers for the last two seasons, spending 13 with the franchise in total.

Here’s more on him from his bio on the Packers’ official site:

Chad Brinker enters his 13th season with the Packers and second as personnel/football administration executive. He was promoted to his current position on Jan. 22, 2021, after spending three seasons as assistant director of pro scouting/salary cap analyst. Brinker originally came to Green Bay as a scouting assistant in January 2010 before spending six seasons (2012-17) as a pro scout.

It appears Brinker has a diverse background, but his ability to figure out the salary cap in particular will come in handy with Tennessee needing to free up money this offseason.

Brinker played college ball at Ohio before entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2003 with the New York Jets. He never played in a regular season contest, though.

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Packers losing personnel executive Chad Brinker to Titans

A key member of Brian Gutekunst’s front office is leaving Green Bay to join the Titans as assistant GM.

Brian Gutekunst and the Green Bay Packers are losing personnel executive Chad Brinker to the Tennessee Titans. According to Albert Breer of MMQB.com, the Titans are hiring Brinker as the team’s new assistant general manager under first-year general manager Ron Carthon.

Brinker spent 13 seasons with the Packers. His official title over the last two seasons was personnel/football administration executive. Before his promotion in 2021, Brinker was the assistant director of pro scouting/salary cap analyst. He also spent six seasons as a pro scout (2012-17).

His roles included scouting NFL rosters, free agency and transactions while also helping the planning of the salary cap. He also has previous experience on the college scouting side, giving him the full breadth of knowledge required for a jump into a bigger executive role.

From the Packers: “Brinker helps direct the Packers’ pro personnel department, which develops and executes the team’s strategy for unrestricted free agency and the undrafted free agent process while also conducting year-round analysis of talent on other NFL rosters. His scope of work also includes scouting future opponents, managing free-agent visits and tryouts and monitoring NFL transactions…Brinker also works with Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst and Executive Vice President/Director of Football Operations Russ Ball to incorporate long-range planning processes in areas such as player contract research and negotiation, salary-cap administration, roster management and the day-to-day operations of the player personnel department.”

Brinker, 42, played in the NFL with the New York Jets.

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