When Ran Carthon was promoted to executive vice president/general manager by the Tennessee Titans this offseason after one year on the job, it was viewed as an opportunity for him to formally put his stamp on the team. Former coach Mike Vrabel had been relieved of his duties last January, which gave Carthon autonomy to pull his vision for the club together.
Nine months removed from the organizational changes and Carthon's vision is failing fast in 2024.
Ran Carthon's Titans Are Not Better In 2024
"So, frustrating," coach Brian Callahan said on Sunday after a 20-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts (2-3). "I still think we're better than what our record says we are, but we also aren't making enough plays to win tight games, and we got to find a way to do that, and I got to find a way to help us get there because right now, losing games in our one score games is tough. We're in the mix and we're fighting, and guys play hard as hell, but right now we're not doing enough to win the games and that's why we've only won one."
Tennessee is 1-4 so far this season as one of the league's worst teams. Callahan, has not been able to correct the offensive woes that plagued this franchise for the last two seasons thus far. Quarterback Will Levis has statistically regressed and is losing the fan base's trust more and more each week.
The Titans handed out over $238 million in free-agent contracts this year in the hopes with the stated goal of becoming the hottest ticket in Nashville. Instead, it has given its apathetic fan base reasons to do something else with their Sundays only six weeks into the NFL season.
No one could have predicted that Carthon and Callahan would have failed this spectacularly to date. After back-to-back double-digit-loss seasons under Vrabel, it made sense to make changes including the exits of aging stars like running back Derrick Henry in free agency. Aggressiveness in acquiring a new-look roster followed with deals for leading free agents at several positions like receiver Calvin Ridley (4 years, $92 M), center Lloyd Cushenberry (4 years, $50 M), running back Tony Pollard (3 years, $21.75 M) and traded for cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (4 years, $76.4 M).
Every move that Carthon made this offseason checked a box as a Tennessee team need.
Best laid plans, however, have not come to fruition. The Titans are defined more for their quarterbacks memable embarrassments in 2024 than they are their play on the field. Ridley was targeted eight times in Sunday's loss without hauling in a single pass to contribute to his paltry nine catches for 141 yards through five games. Sneed, who coordinator Dennard Wilson recently described as the best at his position in the NFL, gave Indianapolis favorable field position with a 33-yard pass interference penalty before surrendering the Colts game-winning touchdown pass on the same drive.
There is little Carthon can do at this point to stop the bleeding with upcoming road dates at Buffalo and Detroit.
What makes the most sense for Tennessee, at this point, is to hone in on the Top Five 2025 draft choice they are trending towards and which veteran players they might be able to move for additional capital before this year's trade deadline.
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