Titans Owner Amy Adams Strunk Will Give ‘Final Blessing’ In HC Search
11:45am: The Titans have rounded out their group of executives who will participate in initial interviews, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. A list that unsurprisingly includes Brinker and assistant GM Dave Ziegler. Vice president/football advisor Reggie McKenzie – a former Raiders linebacker and general manager – will also join, as will vice president of player personnel Dan Saganey.
10:35am: Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk announced a front office reshuffle in Tennessee on Friday, but she is expected to remain a part of the team’s search for a new head coach.
Both Mike Borgonzi and Chad Brinker are remaining in their respective positions as general manager and president of football operations, but Borgonzi will lead the hiring process in the coming weeks.
The Titans will conduct virtual interviews with about a dozen candidates, per Titans insider Paul Kuharsky. Strunk will not sit in on those interviews, though she may review them for in-person interviews of the team’s shortlist. Those she will attend.
This largely resembles the team’s approach to landing on Borgonzi last offseason. Brinker led that process, but Borgonzi received approval from Strunk before the hiring was made official. Similarly, she will give a “final blessing” for the Titans’ new head coach.
The extent of Strunk’s input on the Titans’ new coach remains to be seen. She has not been afraid to impose her will on the franchise when it comes to coaching and front office decisions, all the way down to specific moves regarding specific players. That was a source of friction with Mike Vrabel, who did a lot with a little in Tennessee, and ultimately led to his removal.
As a result, head coaching candidates may be wary of Strunk’s tendency to impose her will on the team. They may use their interviews to gauge compatibility not just with Borgonzi and Brinker, but Strunk as well.
Titans To Add Dan Saganey To Front Office
11:37am: Saganey’s title will be vice president of player personnel, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reports. This represents a lateral move as a result. As for Gardner, meanwhile, Stratton notes he and the Titans have parted ways. Tennessee will remain a team to watch for further front office moves this offseason.
9:40am: Once the draft concludes, movement often takes place amongst NFL front office and scouting personnel. In the case of the Titans, an addition is set to be made in the scouting department.
With Dan Saganey‘s Browns tenure coming to a close, he is headed to Tennessee. Cleveland’s former player personnel director is expected to be hired by the Titans, per veteran reporter Paul Kuharsky. Saganey will take on a “high-level scouting role” upon arrival, Kuharsky adds.
In recent years, the Titans have seen plenty of executive turnover. This offseason has included the firing of general manager Ran Carthon, who was replaced by Mike Borgonzi. The latter led the way during the draft, but president of football operations Chad Brinker will serve as the organization’s top decision-maker in many other areas. Saganey – who had been in his post since 2016 – will join the fold as Tennessee continues to make moves in the front office.
Per Neil Stratton of Inside the Lines (via Kurhasky), the Titans recently moved on from A.J. Highsmith as their scouting director. He had been in that spot for only one year, but with changes coming at the top of the organization that department will also have a new face for 2025. Saganey is obviously a candidate to take over Highsmith’s role (although college scouting director Jon Salge as well as pro scouting director Brian Gardner remain in the organization and are candidates to be promoted).
Tennessee followed up the Borgonzi hire by adding a pair of former general managers to the fold. Reggie McKenzie and Dave Ziegler will each play a notable role with the team moving forward. The same is set to be true of Saganey.
Browns Announce Front Office Moves
New Browns GM Andrew Berry announced a series of additions, promotions, and title changes on his player personnel staff today.
The entire list can be found here, courtesy of the team’s official website. Some of the moves, like the hiring of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as vice president of football operations and the addition of former Colts GM Ryan Grigson, have been reported previously.
Grigson, though, finally has a formal title: senior football advisor. He and Berry have a long-standing professional relationship, but Berry said his familiarity with Grigson is not the reason he was brought on board. “[Grigson] is here because I think he is very good,” Berry said. “He has a very established track record as a personnel evaluator from his time in St. Louis at the time, Philly and then obviously, Indianapolis. General Manager experience, rebuilt the Colts into a winner very quickly, Executive of the Year. And that is something that is valuable to me.”
Adofo-Mensah, who spent seven years with the 49ers, will be a part of all roster and strategy decisions and will also assist Berry with day-to-day operations (he is essentially the assistant GM). “I think [Adofo-Mensah] brings a nice blend of both an insider and an outsider perspective to football,” Berry said. “He is humble, high integrity, a continuous learner, true growth mindset and he has fantastic interpersonal and people skills … I think he is really a perfect fit to add to the mix.”
Meanwhile, former assistant director of scouting Glenn Cook, who has been with the Browns since 2016, has been promoted to vice president of player personnel. He will lead the day-to-day operations of the player personnel department, and as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, Cook will also be in charge of college and pro scouting. He will be assisted by Dan Saganey, the new director of player personnel.
Of course, there are also a number of new-age, analtyics positions. Nate Sterken will serve as the new lead data scientist, Andrew Jackson is the data architect, and Ken Kovash is the vice president of player personnel process and development. Berry has been lauded for the work he has done in his first few months on the job, and his roster looks like one that could compete for a playoff spot in 2020. Today’s moves are another step towards his putting his stamp on the organization.