With Ran Carthon out, the Tennessee Titans have begun searching for the team's next General Manager.
However, the Titans are looking for a GM that may have some different responsibilities than other GMs around the NFL. Titans President of Football Operations Chad Brinker will be the primary decision maker for Tennessee when it comes to roster decisions. The new GM will be involved, but ultimately answering to Brinker.
Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk is making an effort to have more clarity when it comes to the power structure within the organization and front office. But that may end up effecting the type of candidates Tennessee can hire.
"It is important to Amy to have absolute clarity in the football organization," Titans President and CEO Burke Nihill told Jim Wyatt. "Chad is the leader of the football program. Chad will be the final authority on all football matters, including the roster."
That includes the search for a new GM. Brinker, who previously spent 13 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, will be leading the hiring process. But considering the new Titans GM will not have the typical powers and roster control that is expected to come with the title, I don't believe it will be a desirable job for many of the top up-and-coming candidates around the league.
I am ruling out the most succesful Assistant GMs that are often discussed in league circles. The Titans have already requested to interview Chiefs Assistant GM Mike Borgonzi. Bears Assistant GM Ian Cunningham is another name that has been tied to Tennessee. Both would be great hires, but I don't think either candidate would be interested in the job or fit what the Titans are looking for.
The Titans want their new GM to be all about scouting. A real grinder of the tape that will do the grunt work on player evaluation. Brinker told Wyatt as much on Tuesday.
"This particular job, what we'll be looking for is someone who has spent their career as a scout, is a top-flight, top-level evaluator who has spent the majority of their career projecting college players to the National Football League, they've had a major hand in setting the draft board in preferably a consistent, winning organization, and you can see their fingerprints all over the roster," said Brinker. "It is someone who wakes up every single day and the only thing they think about is building a roster, evaluating players, watching tape, working with the coaching staff."
And if you're Borgonzi or Cunningham, or someone else that is a popular candidate receiving a lot of interest, there's no way you want your one shot at being an NFL GM to come in a situation where you have little power. Especially when ownership has made a habit of firing front office executives.
No control over the roster and an impatient owner? That's a hard pass for any wannabe GM with legitimate options.
This is not to say the Titans can't still find a viable candidate that fits the job description. They just may need to look a little deeper in organization than the Assistant GM.
Think more Directors and VPs of Player Personnel for succesful teams. These will be guys who have scouting backgrounds and an active role in the collegiate scouting process for an organization. They might be 2-3 years away from becoming one of those hot topic candidates, but the Titans could give them an opportunity to "skip the line," if you will.
There's no hiding from the fact that this is not the most attractive job opening right now. But at the end of the day, there are only 32 of these jobs. Chad Brinker and the Titans will just have to be diligent in their search in order to find someone who is capable, a good culture fit, and also interested in joining a currently tumultuous front office.
