NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Amy Adams Strunk declined to face the Nashville media on Tuesday, leaving Mike Vrabel, who reported to Jon Robinson, as the lone Titans' executive to discuss the general manager’s firing.
Three days later Strunk gave an exclusive to the Associated Press, saying she made the decision on Robinson before the team's 35-10 loss to the Eagles and didn’t think it was fair not to let him go now considering she knew what she wanted to do.
It sure seems like there was no plan for her to speak to anyone. Then following a lot of backlash, the franchise handpicked a reasonably friendly outlet. That’s the Titans' prerogative. There is no way she was going to sit down with me at this stage, I know.
But it appeared to be PR on the fly, and PR on the fly is poor PR.
Why do I believe they didn’t plan on her speaking to someone later in the week when she made the decision early in the week and fired Robinson Tuesday? If the Titans truly had four days to get her ready, they would have done a better job.
In the three video clips Walker tweeted out, Strunk’s body language was poor. She sat with crossed arms in front of her and crossed arms are a big indicator of defensiveness.
Her PR people have to know that, don’t they?
The Titans have come a long way but this looked like old-school methods. Has anyone seen Tommy Smith?
It was good she put some stuff to bed — A.J. Brown and the Eagles as the final straw, the idea of a Mike Vrabel ultimatum.
Teresa Walker may have asked many more questions and not gotten answers worth using, though it’s good to denote when you come up empty.
AP had exclusive access and published 772 words, much of them the background of what Robinson did and didn’t do that led to Strunk’s decision. A more local angle would have been more wide-ranging.
I and some others among my colleagues would have pressed and made some note of what Strunk said on some other matters.
Here are items I would have liked to have seen addressed and I’d like to have known how she reacted to them whether she offered real answers or not.
?You really loved Jon when you hired him and when you gave him his first extension to line him up with Mike Vrabel’s initial contract. When did your questions about his roster-building ability begin?
?Do you see parallels between how far Mike Mularkey took you as a coach and how far Robinson took you as a GM?
?Throughout your time as the face of ownership you’ve always ultimately chosen one of your two top executives, coach or GM, over the other. Ruston Webster over Ken Whisenhunt, Mike Mularkey over Webster, Robinson over Mularkey now Vrabel over Robinson. What are a new GM and Vrabel to think of that trend going forward?
?What power structure do you want there to be between Vrabel and a new GM? Where should personnel control sit and why?
?Ryan Cowden has been at Robinson’s side for all of the moves he’s made for which you’ve fired him. Do you sense he was against a good share of those moves or is he culpable for a good share of them? If he’s culpable, how can he be a real candidate for the open job?
?Isn't it important to have an outside hire as the GM to bring in fresh thinking?
?Do you believe the scouting department has been in tune with analytics used around the NFL and do you want a new general manager to plug into it more?
?Did you have discussions with Robinson during his six-plus years about the composition of his scouting staff and the potential to make changes to it? Should they have known about Rashad Weaver's arrest as some other teams did prior to the draft?
?Did you and Robinson talk about positional failures in scouting, particularly on the offensive line, and what is your hope with Vrabel and a new GM in terms of the approach at positions where the franchise has struggled in terms of talent acquisition?
?How important to you is it that the Titans be lined up to be especially competitive in 2026 if that's when you are moving into the new stadium?
If I had 30 minutes to prepare for a talk with Strunk, those are 10 places I definitely would have gone.
What would you have added?