After years of instability, a massive front-office overhaul and an influx of veteran coaching experience signal a strategic shift that could finally stabilize the Music City franchise.
The Tennessee Titans have been sliding for about four years now.
It started in 2022, when the Titans were 7-3 after beating the Green Bay Packers on the road at Lambeau Field in Week 11. That win would be the last one for Tennessee that season, as the Titans lost their next seven games and finished the season at 7-10.
Tennessee went 2-2 in its first four games in 2023. The starting quarterback to begin the year was Ryan Tannehill, but he was benched for rookie Will Levis.
Levis gave fans a lot of hope after his first start. He threw for 238 passing yards with four touchdowns in a 28-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
After that game, the Titans were 3-4, but they went 3-7 to close out the regular season, finishing 6-11.
The Titans decided to move on from Mike Vrabel after the 2023 season and hired former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan. Callahan was even worse.
He went 3-14 in 2024 and was fired after a Week 6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders last season. The Titans have gone 6-28 since firing Vrabel.
We are once again entering the first season of a new head coach in the Music City. The franchise hired former New York Jets HC and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, with former Kansas City Chiefs executive Mike Borgonzi in place as the General Manager.
To add to the changes, Titans President of Football Operations Chad Brinker stepped down after being promoted to the position in 2024.
It seems that Borgonzi is going to have full control over the team now that Brinker has resigned. It's a change of pace for the Titans compared to how they used to run things.
Brinker was in charge of hiring Borgonzi and had full control over roster decisions. Now, Borgonzi will have those responsibilities.
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer thinks the team may finally be moving in the right direction, and he explained why. He believed that adding former GMs Dave Ziegler and Reggie McKenzie to the front office, along with former head coaches Brian Daboll and Gus Bradley, should give fans hope.
"Borgonzi has stocked his personnel department with ex-GMs (assistant GM Dave Ziegler and VP/football advisor Reggie McKenzie) and guys on the rise (VP of player personnel Dan Saganey and director of player personnel Jon Salge, the one holdover from past regimes at that level)," Breer said. "Meanwhile, Saleh has former head coaches Brian Daboll and Gus Bradley as coordinators and veteran assistant John Fassel running his special teams."
Breer noted that it wasn't set in stone yet and that the Titans could still add an executive or two. However, he felt that the Titans' front office was finally in a good spot.
"That doesn’t mean Brinker won’t leave a void," Breer said. "There’s some rearranging to do on the operations side, and there certainly could be an addition or two. And the process of aligning all of it is still ongoing. But this feels like the Titans’ brass is in lockstep for the first time in a long time, now possessing an experienced front office and field crew. The hope is the class they just drafted is in line with that and the 2026 season will be, too."
The Titans overhauled their roster, too.
Free agent additions Wan'Dale Robinson, John Franklin-Myers, Alontae Taylor and Cor'Dale Flott moved the needle.
The Titans added further to the roster through the 2026 NFL Draft with Carnell Tate, Keldric Faulk, Anthony Hill Jr., Fernando Carmona, Nicholas Singleton, Pat Coogan and Jaren Kanak.
Fans will want to see the product on the field before making assumptions, but there is a different feeling in the Music City this time around.