Over the last roughly 16 months, the Tennessee Titans have completely overhauled their front office and brain trust infrastructure. It started with firing general manager Ran Carthon, which ultimately led to hiring Mike Borgonzi, firing head coach Brian Callahan, and then hiring Robert Saleh as the new head coach.
Back in January, it was reported that Mike Borgonzi would have "final say" over the roster, a decision that ultimately set in motion the chain of events that would lead to the major move absolutely nobody will be surprised by: President of football operations Chad Brinker is stepping down from his role.
At one point, Brinker had control/final say over the roster. It was Brinker who led the search and hiring process when the team Mike Borgonzi as GM in January 2025. Borgonzi officially usurped his role, and now Brinker is out.
Chad Brinker steps down as Tennessee Titans president of football operations
Titans President of Football Operations Chad Brinker steps down pic.twitter.com/SkLc59saep
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) April 29, 2026
"Over the years, I’ve understood and embraced my role as the leader of the football strategy, but as I’ve spent less time in personnel, I have a renewed conviction that it is time to return to what I love and move towards my next chapter."
- Chad Brinker (via Titans official release)
You can't blame Brinker for wanting to be in the lane of what he's passionate about, and Borgonzi taking final say over the roster ultimately put two football-first people in one building with only one job available.
Essentially, Brinker went from having final say over major decisions including the general manager of the team, coaching positions (firing Callahan), and the roster, to essentially being in a business-like role for the team. The Titans are being built to the vision of Borgonzi at this point, so Brinker was no longer needed, and he took action right after the NFL Draft.
The identity of the Titans now and going forward will be all about what Borgonzi believes is best, and Brinker left the team in a pretty good spot. The Titans may not immediately contend for a Super Bowl, but the key pieces are in place for this team to make a significant move up the standings in the AFC South this coming season.
Since Dec. 2022, the Titans have fired Jon Robinson, hired Ran Carthon, fired Mike Vrabel, hired Brian Callahan, fired Carthon, promoted Chad Brinker, hired Mike Borgonzi, fired Callahan, hired Robert Saleh and seen Brinker resign.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) April 29, 2026
It can take a lot of trial and error to get these things right in the NFL, but Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk clearly believes the brain trust of Borgonzi and Robert Saleh is good enough to take the Titans where they want to be, and she let Brinker leave on his own terms.
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