NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A new podcast episode is up on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts and YouTube.

Whichever platform you prefer, please subscribe, rate and review.

Subjects I dive into:

💥 Mike Vrabel's hiring process and timing and what it tells us about who may be coming
💥 Why offensive head coaching hires are good for the Titans
💥 The reporting of interviews and hires
💥 Joseph Ossai and one play losing a game
💥 Boss time
💥 Roster construction of the final four and the lessons it offers for the Titans
💥 Ran Cathon and players who love ball 

By MIKE HERNDON, columnist

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- There is little doubt that the four best teams in the NFL were playing this past weekend. Sure, the 49ers flopped in the NFC Championship game after Brock Purdy’s first-quarter injury derailed any hopes they might have had, but over the course of the season and postseason, I’d take these four over anyone.

It’s always a worthwhile exercise to examine what lessons might be learned from the way these rosters and coaching staffs are constructed.

Let’s start with spending habits. Where are the top teams in the league investing heavily and where are they looking for value? Here is a positional breakdown of where each of the four teams ranks in the NFL when it comes to average annual value (AAV) of current contracts for each position according to Spotrac:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Titans are switching Nissan Stadium to a high-tech artificial surface for the 2023 season.

The move is spurred by NFL studies showing the team's natural surface may have contributed to more lower-body injuries from 2018-2021 than the six NFL venues that use the sort of monofilament fields the team will now turn to.

Nissan Stadium's field has been Bermuda sod since the building opened in 1999 as Adelphia Coliseum, but the franchise has consistently struggled to maintain a good playing surface in November, December and January. Nashville sits in a transition zone, where it can be difficult to sustain natural grass that can handle the heat of August and colder temperatures of the late fall and winter along with the lack of sunlight.

The team has worked with consultants and tried different tactics, and regularly resods part of the field or the whole thing. Despite those efforts, the Titans have consistently wound up with an inconsistent field that has not been durable.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Hey now!

I hope you are coming off an excellent weekend and plowed through a Monday more gracefully than I did.

We learned today that Ben Jones will be going to Pro Bowl events as an alternate, and while that's good for him, I think the meaning of alternates should be diminished in general and should be on the downswing.

We also got the hard number for the 2023 salary cap so we know exactly what the Titans need to save and we've heard a bit more from Ran Carthon.

So we gathered for a chat and discussed all that and a lot of other things that were on your mind as the week kicked off.

You can head to the private Facebook page or below to rewatch.

If you're you don't want to miss out on more exclusive content you can head here to get access to the replays and be part of the next conversation.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans have to cut $23,687,933 in scheduled 2023 salary by 3 p.m. CT on March 15 to be in compliance with the salary cap.

That number is according to Spotrac and has the Titans in the fourth-worst position in the league, better than only the Saints, Buccaneers and Jaguars.

The official 2023 salary cap number of $224.8 million was given to teams Monday, NFL Network reported.

But the Titans won’t simply need to get to a point where their most expensive 51 players cost less than their adjusted cap number, which includes over $1.8 million in rolled-over money from 2022.

They’ll need room to sign new players in free agency and to sign their draft class.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Greetings and welcome to the weekend. I hope you've got big plans leading up to the Championship Games where I hope we get a couple of tight classics.

I hope you've listened to the podcast, but in case you've not gotten to it yet, I urge you to listen or watch and subscribe, rate and review. Here is it on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts and our new YouTube channel. 

I appreciate the steady flow of questions on Twitter and Facebook and our private Facebook page.

Here is the best of what you sent.

How much of an impact do you see Carthon really having as a GM? Can a talent supplier really revitalize an offense that handicaps itself in points based on its current run heavy centered philosophy? Tell me good news if it’s true.

— Howie The Titan (@howie_thetitan) January 21, 2023

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A new podcast episode awaits you on Apple, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

And now, you can watch or listen on our new YouTube channel. You can also find that broadcast below. I hope you will subscribe to that as well.

Whichever platform you prefer, please subscribe, rate and review.

Subjects I dive into:

💥 How little we know about what some front office people actually do.

💥 The idea that the Titans will have a pipeline to 49ers personnel because of Ran Carthon.

💥 Priorities not lining up chronologically.

💥 My disruptive neighborhood horn-honking.

💥 Offensive coordinator thoughts.

💥 Pending Hall of Fame voting.

💥 Championship Game rooting interests.

We are brought to you by Johnathan Jeans of Farm Bureau Insurance in Nolensville, a Titans fan and fan of this podcast.

If you need auto, home or life insurance, please reach out to him, and if you have policies, hit that website or call him at 615 776-1544 to see if he can save you money. I bet he can and why wouldn't you want to?

A snippet:

By MIKE HERNDON, columnist

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- With Ran Carthon locked in as the new general manager in Tennessee, eyes now turn to the openings on the coaching staff that were created when Mike Vrabel fired offensive coordinator Todd Downing, offensive line coach Keith Carter, and secondary coach Anthony Midget following the season.

Matt Nagy with Patrick Mahomes/ © Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Reports indicate that the Titans may have found their secondary coach in former Commanders defensive backs coach Chris Harris.