The Tennessee Titans introduced their new general manager, Ran Carthon, on Friday in what was an exciting day for the team and its fans.
Now, the hard part.
Carthon is taking over a Titans team that is in need of a re-tooling, and he’ll have to sort that out along with head coach Mike Vrabel, as owner Amy Adams Strunk has stressed collaboration.
Right from the get-go, Carthon says his No. 1 priority is getting to know not only how the Titans operate, but Vrabel himself as well.
“Mike Vrabel is at the top of my to-do list,” Carthon said. “Us working together and forging a relationship and coming up with a plan on how to build this roster. There are a multitude of things we need to do, that we need to fix, to make this organization better, but my No.1 priority is spending more time with Mike Vrabel and learning the systems that are here in place and how I can help improve upon them, which will help us building a championship team.”
It’s really no surprise these two hit it off when they first met, as the former NFL players have plenty to talk about. Carthon says his first conversation with Vrabel could’ve lasted hours.
“I’ve always respected him,” Carthon said. “[When we met] we had a level of conversation that could have went [for] hours.” Carthon said. “Our ground base of football, it comes from a similar place. … I am looking forward to working with him in building this team.”
Carthon’s objective upon coming in isn’t to flip this franchise on its head, as he made quite clear during his introductory press conference. Instead, he wants to execute “Mike and his coaching staff’s vision.”
“I can be the greatest talent evaluator of all time, but if I can’t bring Mike the players that he needs to fit his system, then it is not going to work,” he said. “We are not here to collect talent, we are here to build a team.”
A lot of talk about the dynamic between these two surrounds who will get the final say on decisions, something former general manager Jon Robinson appeared to have a firm grasp on.
When asked about that, Carthon said it doesn’t matter and, you guessed it, mentioned collaboration.
“I don’t think that matters, because the word, and what we truly believe here, is collaborating,” he explained. “I think all of that comes down to is a matter of ego. Mike and I are here to work together, and we are going to bring the people in here that we see fit. We are not going to see it the same way every time, but he and I will have the mutual respect to be able to work through that and get the right people in here.”
