Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans FRANCHISE CHANGING DAY, Let Ran Carthon Cook & Mike Vrabel's Dark Side Revealed

Episode Date: January 24, 2024

The Tennessee Titans had a momentous day on Wednesday and made franchise-altering decisions that should have any Titans fan as excited as ever before. The Titans have finally done the right thing and will let Ran Carthon take full control of the franchise as it begins to modernize and involve to catch up with the rest of the NFL. Along with that came the official announcement of Brian Callahan as head coach and Chad Brinker as President of Football Operations. Finally, former Titan linebacker Wesley Woodyard made a radio appearance and dropped a bunch of information on the dark side of Mike Vrabel and shined a light on some of the personality traits that ultimately led to Vrabel being fired.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Jase MedicalEmpower yourself when you purchase a Jase Case, providing you with a personal supply of 5 antibiotics that treat 50+ infections. Get yours today at jasemedical.com and use code LOCKEDON to get $20 off your order.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month.PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code lockedonnfl for a first deposit match up to $100!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelRight now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED when you place a FIVE DOLLAR BET. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was a franchise-changing day for the Tennessee Titans, and fans' excitement should be through the roof. I'll break down all of the big news on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it! You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast.

I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. Today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by PrizePix, the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports. Go to prizepix.com slash locked on NFL. Use the code locked on NFL for a first deposit match up to $100. code LOCKEDONNFL for a first deposit match up to $100. It was a franchise-changing day on Wednesday for the Tennessee Titans in the best way possible. They are going to let Rand Carthon cook, and Brian Callahan was officially announced also.

Wesley Woodyard went scorched earth on Mike Vrabel. We're going to dive into all of that before we do. Thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world. Again, franchise altering

day for the Titans for the best. It goes back to the conversation that we had when the announcement that Brian Callahan would be the next head coach happened. Like, we are seeing the Tennessee Titans grow up in front of our eyes, evolve from one of the quote unquote poverty franchises in the NFL that constantly lags behind other organizations. We are seeing the Titans shift into one of the teams that they need to be the type of team that they need to be to compete in today's NFL. Rand Carthon elevated from general manager to executive vice president. He will have total control over the football operation.

Chad Brinker, assistant general manager, elevated to the president of football operations. Brian Callahan, again, officially installed as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans. Burke Nihill, the president of the Tennessee Titans organization, called this day a watershed moment for the Titans. Nihill said, this is a day that we will look back at as, again, a franchise altering day for the Tennessee Titans. And the big word that I have been stuck on all day is sustainability. I've been a Tennessee Titans fan for 25 years. They've had good seasons. We had the Super Bowl run. We had the 2018. We had the 2019 team.

The 2021 number one seed. But it never felt like it was something that they would be able to sustain for years to come. But now, the way the Titans have decided to evolve as a franchise is going to be able to create sustainable winning. Not just luck-based with antiquated ways of doing things. John Robinson saying, I am the analytics department. The Titans not having an analytics department

or the worst analytics use in the entire NFL. We are talking about a team that has been lacked by other teams in the NFL in terms of their innovation in areas like analytics, data use, sports science, technology. And think about what is happening now. The Titans have finally established a power structure that matches what other teams around the NFL are doing with Rand Carthon at the top, Chad Brinker underneath them, and then the coaches underneath that with Amy Adams-Strunk at the top. They are going to put an emphasis on these things that

we're talking about, incorporating data analysis, incorporating analytics, incorporating sports science. I have heard over the years, numerous times from numerous people, the Titans aren't on the cutting edge. The Titans aren't innovative compared to the rest of the teams in the NFL. In terms of, like I said, sports science, we talk about the injuries that the Titans have dealt with. It's because the Titans are not on the cutting edge with some of the other things that NFL franchises are doing to deal with injuries, to deal with salary cap management, to deal with data and scouting. The Titans have not come up to the level of the modern NFL. And you want to know how I know that the franchise knows that? A quote from Amy Adams Strunk, Titans controlling owner, that is the number

one quote of the day from me. And she said, this is not my father's NFL. This is not my father's NFL. This is not my father's NFL. This is a great day to be a Tennessee Titans fan. This is, again, a franchise-changing, magical moment where we see the Tennessee

Titans go from the mom and pop shop on Main Street to a corporate office Wall Street franchise. Your Tennessee Titans are growing up in front of you. They are leaving the nest. They're going to college.

They're getting hired. Like, again, welcome to the future, ladies and gentlemen. I talked about this after we got the news of Brian Callahan because I knew what his signing as the head coach meant. It meant a continuation of the Tennessee Titans evolution Because I knew what his signing as the head coach meant. It meant a continuation of the Tennessee Titans evolution into a modern football franchise. Like, again, it gets me emotional. You can tell the passion that I have here.

You can tell how much this means to me, alright? I've been following this team, giving this team my everything. I've dedicated my life to this team and to see them actually invest and actually commit to modernizing the team. We saw it last year with Rand Carthon, a GM from one of the best organizations in the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers, who do things the right way to create sustainable success year after year. He brings in Chad Brinker with his IP models, his individual IP models that he owns and his absolutely fantastic background. Brings in Anthony Robinson.

Like, we are changing from the eye test, old school, caveman style of football that this team has been based on for the last 25 years and moving into the modern space of the NFL. Amy Adam Strunk committed today. Today is the day that this franchise changed forever. That they made a decision that we are going to do this the right way. And Burke Nihill admitted in his interview on Wednesday that last year

the Titans did not have the right setup. That they did not have their organizational power structure in the right place. But they made a decision. Amy Adam Strunk made a decision that we cannot do it this antiquated way anymore. It is time to modernize. It is time to join the rest of the modern NFL. What an incredible moment. What an incredible day this is for Tennessee Titans fans everywhere. Your franchise, your favorite team is growing up right in front of your eyes.

But what I want to do now is I want to get down into the nuts and the bolts of the decisions that were made today. Talk about that power structure. What does this mean? What is Rand Carthon responsible for? What is Chad Brinker's role? What is Brian Callahan's situation with this team? We're going to dive into all of that because the Tennessee Titans have decided

we are going to let Rand cook, which is what I've wanted all along. We're going to dive into that in just a moment. Before we do, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by eBay Motors. Passion. Drive. Patience. That's what brings home the winning trophy,

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and bring home the win. Keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay guaranteed fit. Only available to U.S. customers. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, breaking down a franchise-changing day for the Tennessee Titans as they move into the modern NFL after 25 years. So excited for the future ahead for the Tennessee Titans.

But now I want to kind of get into more of the detail discussion. What is the power structure? What is the responsibilities for each member of the organization? What exactly has changed? I'm diving into all of that, including going over some quotes from Amy Adams-Strunk that, again, have me fired up. Before I get into it, I do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content

all year round, always for free. Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. And shout out to my everydayers. Let me know who you guys are down below. Couldn't do it without you guys. And if you aren't an everydayer, then you need to be one. Throw a thumbs up on the video as well.

Show's always free. All I ask for is the press of a button. But like I said, Rancart Thon was promoted from simply general manager to executive vice president of the Tennessee Titans. He will have full roster control. And it was admitted that last year that was not necessarily the case. Rancart Thon and Mike Vrabel were working together

to assemble the roster. Not now. Rancart Thon is going to cook. It is his role. It is his job. It is his responsibility, which in my opinion you hire general manager. That should have been the way that it was all along. But the Titans are correcting their previous

mistakes and again, evolving and modernizing their process. So Ran Carthon, not only the general manager of the team, but the executive vice president of the Tennessee Titans. He'll have full roster control. He will have control and say over the coaching, over the personnel,

that includes people outside of just the roster and the coaches. The coach, Brian Callahan, will report to Rand Carthon. That is his boss. Okay? He'll have control over personnel, like strength and conditioning, nutrition, all of that.

Also, scouting. He will be in charge of the scouts and the scouting process. Now, one of the reasons that the Titans wanted to do that is because of Rancar Carthon's body of work, his experience, and his network within the NFL.

Rand Carthon is as connected as you could be. And Burke Nihill called the hiring process of Brian Callahan a Rand Carthon masterclass. I want to pull this up here. Amy Adams-Strunk, what she had to say about the decision, quote, Over the past year, Ran has impressed me and our staff with his innovative approach to roster building.

Ran's exceptional reputation around the league as a talent evaluator and culture builder was a clear competitive advantage during last year's free agency and draft process as well as our recent search for a head coach. Simply put, Rand Carthon makes the Tennessee Titans a destination for the league's top talent. By expanding his role to include full roster control and oversight of the coaching staff, our organization will now benefit more completely from Rand's unique ability

to build and lead a championship caliber football team. Let Rand cook. But, ask for Chad Brinker. Chad Brinker, hired from the Green Bay Packers, is the assistant general manager for the Titans last year. A guy who has an MBA from Northwestern, who is a former NFL player himself. Father was a coal miner who has developed his own IP models, his own personal IP models that he gets to take with him from team to team. And the team that he left is not allowed to use it because they are his.

He is incredibly innovative. He is a trailblazer in the NFL. He is as smart on the business side and the tech side as he is the football side. And now he has been given more power as well as the president of football operations for the Tennessee Titans. Chad Brinker is going to report to Amy Adams Strunk, but Amy Adams Strunk has said that Chad Brinker's job in Berkna Hill,

just co-signed this on the radio on Wednesday, that Chad is meant to do all of the stuff that Rand shouldn't have to worry about, and he can deliver that information to Rand Carthon so, quote, Rand can pin his ears back and create the best roster possible. So, Chad Brinker is going to be in charge of data and analytics, sports science, technology use within the organization, like groundskeeping, you know, lifting equipment, recovery equipment for the trainers, medical, salary cap.

So Chad Brinker is basically going to handle all of the data collection aspects. He is going to get all of that data and all of that information and deliver it to Rand Carthon so that Rand Carthon can make the best decision possible. And this, my friends, is how great businesses,

not just in the NFL, but in the real world operate. You have one person who makes the decision at the top of the chain, but if that person is smart, they surround themselves with the most talented and intelligent people possible, and they intake and respect the input of all of those people and use that information to make the best decision possible. This is how good businesses, not just in the NFL, but in life operate. This is how smart decision makers do things. They surround themselves with talent and intelligence and seriously respect the input of

those around them who they have installed to help them. And that is what's going to happen now with the Titans. This is not just about the NFL. This is not just about football. This is how successful companies operate. And this is what the Tennessee Titans have established today. And they admitted that this is not the structure that they had before and it was a mistake and they wanted to make these changes to improve and modernize and evolve. Again, an incredible franchise-changing day for the Titans. Rancart Thon as Executive Vice President.

Chad Brinker as President of Football Operations. Working together under Amy Adamstrunk with Rancart Thon as the top guy making the final decision on the roster and everything else. I mean, it's beautiful. It's incredible. Again, I cannot say enough about how happy I am with this football team right now. After 25 years of being the caveman,

of being archaic, of being antiquated, to see them commit this way. Unbelievable. Finally, all of you guys crying and worrying, just relax, man. Brian Callahan was officially announced as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans. And he is going to have his opening press conference at 1 p.m. Central Time on Thursday. Here is what Amy Adams Strunk had to say about Brian Callahan.

Quote, Brian has a track record of success and a range of experience that has prepared him for this opportunity. His football knowledge and his enthusiasm for the game really stand out. And beyond that, we think his ability to lead will make him an ideal fit for our franchise. If you look at his history, Brian has been a part of a Super Bowl winning team and another team that advanced to the Super Bowl. He's worked in a variety of dynamic offenses with top flight quarterbacks at each step of his career. He's shown the flexibility and intelligence to make an impact during his time with the Bengals.

He was trusted with a number of responsibilities, offensive design, quarterback development, a contributor to free agency and draft processes, and showed the ability to be a resource in all of those areas as we seek sustained success. Again, sustainability is the word of the day. And pursue a championship. Brian has seen firsthand what that looks like and is the right person to lead us

I mean if these quotes from the owner of the team don't fire you up I don't know what else to tell you how could you not be incredibly excited about where this team is going and I want to end the conversation well let me say this

Burke Nihill the president who had a big interview also said that a big thing is Brian Callahan and the organization believe in Will Levis as a top-tier quarterback. That is music to my ears. But I want to finish with this. And it goes back to the quote that I talked about in our first segment. Amy Adam Strunk is talking about Chad Brinker and his IP models

and his analytics use and his data analysis and all those things. But I just want to go through this. Quote, this is not my father's NFL. Oh, man, that gets me fired up right there. As our league continues to evolve in areas like analytics, sports science, and technology, football organizations have become more complex and multifaceted. I want our football operation to be at the forefront of the NFL as teams continue to find new competitive advantages.

Goes on to talk about Chad Brinker's role. Chad's oversight of these areas will allow Ran to focus his full attention and energy on building and leading a championship team. I mean, this is not my father's NFL. Amy Adam Strunk is telling you, she is telling the fans of her team that we are growing up. We are modernizing. We are modernizing. We are innovating. We are coming out of the past and into the future.

And again, like I said, after Brian Callahan was hired, this is an incredible franchise-changing time for the Tennessee Titans, and your excitement should be at an absolute, absolute all-time high. But part of moving into that new era of Tennessee Titans football is getting rid of the previous era. And my God, did former Tennessee Titan Wesley Woodyard go absolutely berserk on Mike Vrabel in a radio interview on 104.5 in Nashville on Wednesday.

I'm going over all of the revelations from that interview here in just a moment. Before I do, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Look, the NFL season is obviously over. The playoffs are starting to wrap up, but there's still time to get in on the action with FanDuel.

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slash Locked On and make your first bet a layup. It's FanDuel, official partner of the NFL. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about the franchise-changing moment that this is for the Tennessee Titans. We talked about the organizational structure and how exciting it is to see the Titans let Rand cook. to see the Titans let Rand cook.

But before any of that information hit, Wesley Woodyard went scorched earth on Mike Frabel and gave us some incredible insight into things that happened while he was with the team. So I'm going to go into what Wesley had to say. Before I do, though, again, thank you for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Also want to let you guys know that Locked On has launched

the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube. It's called Locked On Sports Today. It's here for you 24-7 covering the top sports stories of the day with local experts from Locked On plus our national shows covering every league. Go to Locked On Sports Today on YouTube and subscribe to the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel. Also, it's Thursday.

I host the Thursday show of the Locked On NFL podcast, talking about all the latest big-time NFL news. I would appreciate your guys' support over there as well. But outside of all the big news we got on the Titans, again, Wesley Woodyard, former Tennessee Titans linebacker, who was there for the 2019 run, came in 2015, saw a lot of things change, saw Mike Malarkey, saw Mike Vrabel. He really went off on 104.5 The Zone.

I believe it's called local Nashville radio station. The show was Ramon, Kayla, and Will. Ramon Foster, shout out to you. He's been on the podcast before, friend of the show. Appreciate that. But, man. Wesley gave us a lot of insights into, in my opinion,

why Mike Vrabel failed here and why things went sour. Let's go over this because a lot of people are going to say and are already saying this is just a disgruntled ex-employee. This is sour grapes because Mike Vrabel didn't want Wesley Woodyard, replaced him with Rashawn Evans, replaced him with Jayon Brown. This is just a former employee who's mad at the guy who got rid of him, wanting to get a lick back. You know what I mean?

And look, excuse me. I am not going to sit here and say that that's not what this is. There is a ton of that. Clearly, some of this is just sour grapes. That's not something that you can deny. But the cold, hard facts and the specific examples that Wesley Woodyard provided about Mike Vrabel, you cannot deny those either and brush those off as sour grapes.

He gave you literal, specific examples. And here's what they were. Number one, in the defensive meeting before the Titans played Kansas City in the AFC Championship game in 2019, Dean Pease and Mike Vrabel got in a big argument. Dean Pease came back into the defensive meeting or came into the defensive meeting to talk to the players

and Dean Pease started kind of saying, hey, sorry you guys had to see that. Sorry that happened. And in the middle of that, what Wesley Woodard called a bonding experience between the defensive players and their D coordinator, Mike Vrabel barged in, stole the clicker in the film away from Dean Pease

and began to coach the defensive meeting like Dean Pease wasn't even there. Completely disrespecting one of the most respected defensive coordinators of my lifetime. That goes hand in hand with, in 2019 in that game, Mike Vrabel stole play calling away from Dean Pease at halftime and the Titans blew a 10-point lead against Kansas City in that game. And the crux of the issue, according to Wesley Woodyard, is that Mike Vrabel wanted to run cover four.

He wanted to run a ton of cover four. And as Wesley Woodyard said, cover four is a thinking coverage. You got to match up with guys on the fly. And that is not what was best for Malcolm Butler and Adoree Jackson. So Wesley Woodyard said that the defense was like, Coach, that is not what's best for our players. Why would we do that? Logan Ryan is a forward player, not a backwards player.

So Mike Vrabel wanted to totally change the coverage identity for the Titans and go with a ton of cover four when that did not suit his player strength. And again, you see multiple facets of what's wrong and what the weaknesses are with Mike Vrabel. He's disrespectful to people. He does not trust the people around him. His ego gets in the way. And he is not about molding his system to his players' talents.

He wants players to fit into his, and if they don't, they're out. And that's why we see a ton of players leave the Titans and go on to be better elsewhere because Mike Vrabel refused to adapt to his players. He tried to force them into what he wanted, not what was best for them. And those are two examples right there from the same game where that happened. Also, Wesley Woodyard said that when Mike Vrabel came in, he decided to kick the players' kids out of the locker room. No kids allowed in the locker room, but he allowed his own kids to be in the locker room.

How disrespectful. Wesley Woodyard said, it was insane that we're going to spend all of our time and all of our energy devoted to your football team and I can't even bring my kid in here to let him know why his dad's not home all the time. Now, eventually Mike Vrabel changed that back and Mike Vrabel allowed the kids to be back in the locker room

and be a part of it. But man, to start off that way, when you first got to be the head coach to make that rule, it's ego, it's control, it's power. And then, another anecdote, again, these are cold, hard facts and examples here. The very first day that Mike Vrabel was hired at his team meeting, he completely crapped on Mike Malarkey.

Completely destroyed him, and then called all of the veteran players entitled. The players who had just gotten the first playoff win the team had seen in over a decade. That changed the culture from the 2014-15 disasters to the 2017 team that won in Kansas City. Very first day, come in and crap on your former coach

and crap on all your veterans. Insane. He also talked about, you know, guys leaving and playing better elsewhere because Vrabel wouldn't adjust. Talked about how Vrabel would completely overwork the veteran players on a weekly basis. Again, is this sour grapes?

Absolutely, that's a part of it. But these are specific examples and stories of things that really happened. And look, do all of these things and these examples mean that, you know, that's why the Titans failed? No, there are a lot of good players that played better after all of these Wesley Woodyard era players were gone. But again, these examples give us a window into Mike Vrabel's ego.

Mike Vrabel's power, hungry, control nature. So it is not a surprise that, yes, these may be sour grapes things from Wesley Woodyard, but it is obvious that Mike Vrabel's inability to respect the people around him, his inability to adjust his system to his players' strengths, have hurt this team over and over. And it is ultimately what was his undoing. Because his inability to trust the franchise,

his inability to trust a new general manager, his inability to play nice new general manager, his inability to play nice and collaborate with anybody was his undoing and why ultimately he had to be fired. And it's no surprise that in all of the reporting that's come from national people on Mike Vrabel's next job, it has been said Mike Vrabel is rough around the edges. Mike Vrabel can be difficult to deal with. Mike Vrabel is a my way or highway guy. It all makes sense. And as I talked about a week ago on Friday, Mike Vrabel

power trip is why he ultimately had to be let go. And out with the old, in with the new. It needed to happen. And now the Titans can find a collaborative coach in Brian Callahan who will adjust his system to his players and is willing to be part of a team to drive this franchise forward. It is a great day for Tennessee Titans fans

to get rid of that toxicity and move into the modern era with a modern structure. That, though, is going to do it for today's show. So excited for what's to come. I'm going to be breaking down Brian Callahan's press conference on tomorrow's show.

But as always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland. And this was Locked on Titans.