The Tennessee Titans‘ front office seems as if its officially heading in its new direction.
The Titans are working through a contract to hire Kansas City Chiefs assistant GM Mike Borgonzi as their next general manager on Friday, sources tell The Tennessean, after two weeks of interviews led by Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker. Borgonzi replaces Ran Carthon, who the Titans dismissed on Jan. 7 after two seasons at the helm and a 9-25 record. Borgonzi inherits a Titans front office at a crossroads, possessing the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after the team finished the 2024 season with a 3-14 record.
No official contract has been offered yet, per source, but the deal is being worked through. ESPN and NFL Network first reported the news.
Once completed, Borgonzi will be the sixth full-time general manager in Titans history, and the third in four years following behind Carthon and Jon Robinson, who was fired midway through the 2022 season.
Chiefs GM Brett Veach reportedly told Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer via text on his right-hand man Borgonzi landing the Titans GM job: “Long-time coming—one of the hardest-working guys in the business. Tennessee made the right choice.”
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Meet Mike Borgonzi, Tennessee Titans new GM
Borgonzi has spent nearly two decades in the Chiefs organization, rising his way up from the lowest levels of the scouting department all the way to his current role of assistant GM, a post he’s held since 2021. Borgonzi has worked in the operations side and the player personnel side of the Chiefs front office, bouncing back and forth and surviving several regime changes before the Chiefs’ modern dynasty began.
A college fullback at Brown University, Borgonzi broke in with the Chiefs in 2009. After several years in the scouting department, Borgonzi was promoted to director of player personnel in 2015 and director of football operations in 2018. Over the span of those two promotions, the Chiefs developed into one of the league’s most consistent contenders and, soon after, the most dominant powerhouse in the league behind coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs drafted Mahomes and star defensive tackle Chris Jones while Borgonzi was the team’s director of player personnel. Since Borgonzi was elevated to assistant GM, the Chiefs have found and developed stars through the draft such as Trent McDuffie, Nick Bolton, Creed Humphrey and Isiah Pacheco.
Borgonzi hasn’t overlapped directly with the Titans’ highest-ranking staffers. But the Kansas City model does share roots with the Green Bay system that Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker comes from. Former Chiefs general manager John Dorsey, who led Kansas City’s front office from 2013-17, spent more than a decade in Green Bay before moving to the Chiefs and instilling many of the similar principles that Brinker is preaching.
Chad Brinker effect: How Titans GM position will work
After firing Carthon, the Titans announced that Brinker, not the team’s new GM, will have final say on roster and personnel matters and will serve as the tiebreaker when disagreements crop up in the front office and coaching staff.
Brinker told The Tennessean in the hours following Carthon’s firing that the new GM’s role will still involve setting the team’s agenda in free agency and in the NFL draft. The Titans still consider the GM to be the team’s top personnel official and the NFL clearly agreed, allowing executives who ranked below general manager to interview for the Titans’ vacancy without problem.
Tennessee Titans GM search
Brinker and the Titans conducted 10 initial interviews for the position between Jan. 10-13. Within one day of finishing the initial round of interviews, the Titans moved on to in-person second-round interviews beginning on Jan. 14, speaking to six candidates: Borgonzi, Indianapolis Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds, Buffalo Bills director of player personnel Terrance Gray, Chicago Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham, Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant GM John Spytek and Green Bay Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan.
The Titans had one of three general manager vacancies this offseason, along with the New York Jets and Las Vegas Raiders.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.
With Borgonzi at the helm, Titans fans can expect a strategic and forward-thinking approach to building the team’s roster and sustaining success on the field. His eye for talent and ability to evaluate players will be crucial in shaping the future of the franchise.
This hiring marks a new era for the Titans, and fans can look forward to seeing how Borgonzi’s leadership will impact the team’s performance in the seasons to come. Stay tuned for more updates as the Titans prepare for the upcoming NFL season under their new general manager.
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