From the minute general manager Mike Borgonzi and president Chad Brinker preached a conservative approach in free agency, it was painfully obvious that this would be a multi-year rebuild. Borgonzi was anxious to avoid the mistakes Ran Carthon made in his short tenure as GM.
The 2025 roster lacks playmakers, proven by the Titans' NFL-worst 1-11 record. Borgonzi and Brinker need to focus on acquiring talent this offseason that could actually make a difference on an NFL field. That approach would differ from the short-term solutions Borgonzi prioritized last offseason.
There have been mixed results with that decision, but that isn't a realistic way to build a team with as many holes as the Titans have. In the long term, there might be benefits to taking a bird's eye view approach, but the short term is the painful product we're being asked to watch every weekend.
Titans GM Mike Borgonzi needs to be aggressive in pursuit of talent this offseason
A prime example of Borgonzi's thought process and conservative approach failing in real time can be found at the wide receiver position. Built like a house of cards, the Titans' passing attack collapsed before it ever had a chance to get going because they neglected the receiver position in free agency and put all of their chips on Calvin Ridley being able to carry the passing game.
Ridley was supposed to be the dynamic playmaker on the roster, and he was supposed to take the load off of rookie weapons Chimere Dike, Gunnar Helm, and Elic Ayomanor. That looked good on paper, but that meant that Cam Ward's development was dependent on Ridley playing his best and staying healthy for 17 games. Neither hope came remotely close to happening, and now the team is dealing with the rollercoaster of starting four rookies on offense.
That can't happen again in 2026.
The Titans are casting a wide net with their head coaching search, and the focus will be on leadership and culture building. Once that massive domino has fallen, the rest can start to fall into place, but one of the big selling points that the Titans will have is that they possess a lot of money and draft capital to build this roster to suit the needs of the new head coach's vision for Ward.
Regardless of who they hire, the biggest takeaway from this season is just how few playmakers the Titans have on offense. Instead of pinning their hopes on one or two players, the next head coach will need to make it clear to Borgonzi that this is the time to support Ward in every way possible.
If the front office wants Ward to be the quarterback of the future, they have to let him be himself, and that means that they can't get the watered-down, dink-and-dunk version they have gotten for the last two months. They need him to be a gunslinger who isn't afraid to rip the ball aggressively downfield to his playmakers.
That all starts with Borgonzi and Brinker being much more aggressive in acquiring playmakers this offseason by any means necessary.