Chad

Brinker

The Titans are in for more shakeup in their front office as Brinker steps down. The 46-year-old spent 13 years in the Packers’ organization before joining the Titans as assistant general manager in 2023, followed by two seasons as the team’s president of football operations. Tennessee had already re-structured the front office, with general manager Mike Borgonzi reporting directly to ownership while new head coach Robert Saleh would report to Borgonzi. Brinker said he has a “renewed conviction” to return to personnel management and he will “pursue other opportunities” as the Titans undergo another change in leadership.

In short, Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi seemingly received a promotion. Previously, Borgonzi and the head coach reported to the president of football operations, Chad Brinker, who had the final say on the 53-man roster. Now, the head coach will report directly to Borgonzi. Brinker and Borgonzi will, in turn, report directly to Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk. Borgonzi will also now have final say on the 53-man roster and lead the search for the Titans’ next head coach. Brinker will reportedly “remain heavily involved in all aspects of running the building, as well as salary cap planning, research and analytics,” but we cannot help noticing that he and Borgonzi look an awful lot like peers now. While this could foment positive change, increasing an owner’s involvement in front office personnel’s day-to-day work does not always work out for the best.

According to Florio, the Titans’ search for a new head coach is in the “beginning stages,” but the team does not plan to use an outside firm to conduct its search. Florio reports that the Titans plan to use an “extremely calculated process” to find their third head coach in four seasons, but we’ll see what truly comes of the search before passing judgment. The Titans have been an organizational disaster for the last several seasons and are on track to finish 2025 with their fourth-straight losing campaign. They’ll have plenty of time between now and the end of the season to say and do all of the right things as they work toward hiring a new coach, but whoever is hired will have their work cut out for them.

Brinker is likely attempting to obfuscate their plans while ideally driving up the No. 1 overall pick’s trade value. The league knows that the Titans need to find a starting quarterback but muddying the waters as to whom they may select could scare a team in need of an elite pass rusher, or other non-quarterback, into trading up so as not to miss out on their preferred high-end prospect. Brinker also stated new general manager Mike Borgonzi will have the final say on what the Titans ultimately choose to do with the pick.