NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans preached discipline and patience as soon as they hired Mike Borgonzi as their general manager.
With their nine-pick draft class, they really put it into practice.
Cam Ward comes in with a great deal of experience, but still needs a proper path laid out to give him his best chance.
Their second-rounder, Femi Oladejo, has played just 10 games at outside linebacker and needs refinement as a pass rusher. Their third-rounder, Kevin Winston, is coming off a three-game year due to a torn ACL. Fourth-round wide receiver Elic Ayomanor had two big injuries before settling in for two solid seasons at Stanford. Sixth-round running back Kalel Mullings spent more time at Michigan as a linebacker than in the offensive backfield.
“All these players need to get better, they need to develop,” Borgonzi said. “But if you have those traits, usually that takes you over the edge to really compete in getting better. That’s a big part of it. All these guys are going to have to develop, though. But when you have those high-end character traits, the work ethic that they put in, the time in weight room… time in the film room, I think that helps them develop.”
The Titans did not behave as drafters like a team that needed to start winning in a hurry.
All of this puts a great emphasis on coaching. Brian Callahan and his staff are under pressure after a 3-14 start with a bad roster and a bad quarterback situation. I’m asked constantly how many games he needs to win to be the team’s coach beyond 2025. I don’t think it’s a number so much as it’s a show of steady progress for Ward that will give Callahan job security.
“We want to develop these guys …we have a vision for these players, I think that was a big part of it, coming in and getting the coaches involved in the process,” Borgonzi said. “There is a vision for these players, they know where they need to get better. We have a great coaching staff here, so I have full confidence in them that they are going to develop these guys into the players that we know they can be.”
But Amy Adams Strunk has fired one of her primary people in three straight years – Jon Robinson during the 2022 season, Mike Vrabel following the 2023 season and Ran Carton after two seasons following the 2024.
We hear she’s sold on the patience and disciplined approach Chad Brinker and Borgonzi are selling.
"I’ve had a lot of conversations with Amy since January and I’ll just say this: Amy is fully on board with the plan,” Chad Brinker said. “She wants to become one of the elite franchises of the league. She believes in what we are doing. I really appreciate her and her support and how she’s really empowered us to do our jobs.
“I’m speaking on her behalf right now. We hired Mike to lead that process, particularly building that football team. I think she really believes in what we are doing. And we want to make her proud. So we’re working hard to do that.”
But if losses mount and the people close to her who are not football experts are whispering in her ear in December and January, we know all of that could go out the window.
And if Callahan does a reasonable job, the wise path will be staying the course with Ward’s coaching and the people around him, not upending things after one year.
Strunk has largely faded into the background, weary of criticism as times got tough. But she was front and center in the draft room for Ward’s selection and beaming at the press conference introducing him when Warren Moon appeared to surprise him by bestowing his retired No. 1 on the top pick.
She remains the most volatile factor who can screw things up the most, who no one can control.
If you are caught up in post-draft hope, if you’ve bought into Brinker-Borgonzi, if you like the idea of Callahan-Ward, she is the reason that you should still be scared of the Titans being the Titans and messing up what might be a good track, of setting things back.
She's bought this plan now. When the things unfold that require the patience, will she stick with it then?
