Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans HIRE Ran Carthon as General Manager!! Carthon Breakdown and Next Steps for Titans

Episode Date: January 18, 2023

The Tennessee Titans have officially hired a new general manager. Ran Carthon from San Francisco. Carthon helped build the 49ers into a powerhouse and now comes to Tennessee with a similar model. Now that he is hire, what comes next for the Titans? Also, why should you have confidence in the hire!!Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!PrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONUltimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.TurboTaxCome to TurboTax and don’t do your taxes. Visit TurboTax.com to learn more.Tommy JohnWinter mornings are brutal. So here’s my tip for tackling the day in comfort: Grab new Tommy John Loungewear and take cozy wherever you go. Get TWENTY PERCENT OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER at TommyJohn.com/LOCKEDON. BetterHelpThis episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at Betterhelp.com/LockedOn and get on your way to being your best self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, the Titans have hired a general manager, Rand Carthon, from the San Francisco 49ers organization. Who is Carthon? Why is this a great move? What comes next and what this means for the direction of the Titans as an organization? and what this means for the direction of the Titans as an organization. I'm breaking it all down 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. Breaking news, Titans fans. We have a general manager. The Tennessee Titans hire Ran Carthon from the San Francisco 49ers. The news just broke and it is great news indeed on multiple levels. We're diving into everything you need to know about this hire. Before we do, I want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by BetOnline. BetOnline has you covered this season with more props, odds, and lines than ever before.

BetOnline, where the game starts. Also, thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Remember, I am going to be putting out daily, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all platforms all year round for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. So make sure that you subscribe, smash that notification bell so you know when I go live every day and throw a thumbs up on the video right now if you are excited about this Rand Carthon news. The podcast is free. All I ask in return is the click of a button. Get your thumbs up on there.

I definitely do appreciate it. Again, I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Nearly 25 years as a Titans fanatic and a certified film junkie. So I hope you guys will enjoy. But man, what an excellent hire. Ron, Ron is the name, but he goes by Ran. Ran Carthon. Throwing him up on the screen right now so you guys can get a look. This is your new general manager. Let's dive right in to Carthon's background here and why I'm so excited about the hire.

Number one, Carthon is 41 years old. Mike Rabel is 47. So I like having a younger candidate, a guy who has a modern view of the NFL. Love that. Fits perfectly with Mike Rabel's timeline. So number one, checks a big box for me there. Not only that, he is a former NFL player himself. Now it was a cup of coffee in the NFL for Rand Carthon, but nonetheless, he has experience in the league as a player. And you can't tell me that that hurts his ability to be a good general manager.

It can only help not only that, but his father had a much longer stint in the NFL. So he comes from an NFL family. I mean, as the son of a coach, you are just getting me going by having pedigree and fathers who were in the league. He has been learning about the NFL since he was born. Loving that. He has been a scout. He has been a director of player personnel for two different organizations, the Los Angeles Rams, and then he came over to the San Francisco 49ers. I believe that was 2016, 2017. So he's had a ton of experience with multiple organizations. Before that, he had 15

years in scouting. So you get all of that college scouting background. Then when he took over as director of pro personnel for the 49ers, he had a major hand in trades, free agency, waivers, all of those pro personnel things. He was a pro scout with the Falcons back in the day as well leading up to their Super Bowl run. So Carthon has had a ton of great experience. He has been involved in the NFL since he was a child. And one thing that I really like is he is a relationship-focused person.

Okay? Carthon has said publicly to the media that he is big on cultivating relationships within the workplace. And let me point this out. Where did he just come from? San Francisco. San Francisco had Kyle Shanahan, a strong, fantastic head football coach in place. And then they went to Shanahan and said, hey, work with us to get your general manager. That is exactly what the model is the Titans are going after. You have Mike Vrabel,

a strong head coach in place. You need to find a general manager to work with him. Remember, Amy Armstrong said at the beginning of the process, collaboration was the key to her. So finding someone who is relationship focused like Carthon, who's been in the business literally since he was a child

or at least feeling how the business works, that is the perfect person to work in tandem with Mike Vrabel, another guy who has experienced almost every aspect of the NFL from being a player, multiple different kinds of roles as a player, into coaching. So you have to do to really, truly understand the NFL, a place that not only Carthon had a similar setup with the head coach and the general manager that he got to learn from,

but San Francisco is who the Titans want to be when they grow up. San Francisco has built an elite roster that they have been able to have multiple deep playoff runs, including a Super Bowl appearance with, let's call it what it is, mediocre quarterback play. Is Jimmy Garoppolo that much different than Ryan Tannehill? No. They got Brock Purdy leading that group right now because that roster is so fantastic. And look, it's not just about drafting. Look at the trades that San Francisco, and remember I told you,

Carthon had a focus on pro moves, free agency, trades, waivers. San Francisco has executed some of the best trades we've seen in the last few years. They traded for Christian McCaffrey. This year, they traded for Trent Williams. And if you're somebody who wants a young rookie quarterback in this draft, Carthon was a part of the organization when they made the deal to go up to top three

and get Trey Lance. So, yeah, maybe Lance doesn't look like he's going to work out completely, but if you're somebody who wants the Titans to go up to top three and get Trey Lance. So yeah, maybe Lance doesn't look like he's going to work out completely, but if you're somebody who wants the Titans to go up and make a move, this is a guy who knows the price, knows how the negotiations will go. I mean, everything about this hire is fantastic. It's absolutely fantastic. Love the hire from Carthon. Very excited to see what he can do with the Tennessee Titans. I mean, if you're somebody who did not want them to hire someone within the organization, you didn't want Ryan Cowden, you didn't want Monty Austin for it, great. Here you go. And

even if you're somebody like me who really liked Adam Peters from San Francisco, one of the top talent evaluators in the NFL, he declined the Titans request, decided to stay with San Francisco, one of the top talent evaluators in the NFL. He declined the Titans request, decided to stay with San Francisco, but Peters is considered one of the best talent evaluators in the entire NFL. Well, guess who just worked with him hand in hand for the last six or seven years? Rand Carthon. So it's almost like the best of both worlds. No, Carthon wasn't my number one choice. That was Ian Cunningham. But Carthon has consistently been my number two choice.

And I don't see how you can be upset about this hire. There should be no complaining whatsoever from Titans fans at this juncture based on this hire. Not only is Carthon incredibly qualified and a perfect fit for the Titans, but his connections, his view of the way things will work, super important for the Titans. So we're going to continue breaking down

this hire. I'm going to talk about how this could affect the offensive coordinator search. Talk about what comes next for the Titans now that they have their general manager in place. And towards the end of the show, I'm going to tell you guys why this hire means more than just a great general manager hire. Why it means that the Titans are putting their money where their mouth is about the direction

of the organization. Can't wait to dive into all of it. We're going to continue today's show. Before we do though, how appropriate that I got to tell you guys that today's show is sponsored by the Ultimate Football GM app. Guys, the Titans just hired a general manager. If you want to be a general manager yourself, then you have to download the Ultimate Pro Football GM app. You get to manage your franchise from top to bottom. Hire and fire coaches and coordinators. You could trade players, make draft picks, sign guys, cut guys, go all the way through free agency and the ups and the downs of

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Just broke down his background and why it's a perfect fit for what the Titans need and what the Titans are looking for. Now I want to start to spin things forward a little bit. What does this mean for the Titans going forward? Then at the end of the show, we're going to talk about how this shows that Amy Adams Strunk, the Titans controlling owner, is putting her money where her mouth is based on what she told us she wanted to see. Before we get into the rest of the show, I do want to thank you guys again for making

the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all platforms for free. I'm never going to ask you guys for money. All I'm going to ask for is a thumbs up on the video. Throw your thumbs ups on the video right now. I don't ask for free. I'm never going to ask you guys for money. All I'm going to ask for is a thumbs up on the video. Throw your thumbs ups on the video right now. I don't ask for much. Just throw me a bone there with a little thumbs up. But either way, thanks for tuning in. Stay tuning in. Subscribe. I'm going to have you guys every Monday through Friday all year long for free. You're not

going to beat that anywhere, Titans fans. So, spinning forward, now that the general manager is in place, he could start to build out his staff. And listen, this is why I said earlier this week that it was so, so important that the Titans make this higher prior to the Senior Bowl, which practices start on the 30th, the Senior Bowl is one of the most important parts of the scouting process leading up to the draft. So the Titans have to.

The Titans have to get their staff in place, let Carthon make his changes, let Carthon make his hires before the Senior Bowl begins. So he is good to go for that. And the Titans can know not only who their people are who are going to be doing that job, but what they are looking for in a roster. That is going to be critically important. Critically important.

So seeing some people who are just turning in, little recap for you for Carthon if you weren't on before. Number one, former NFL player, short cup of coffee in the NFL, but their father played in the NFL. He's been in the NFL since he was a child. He has been a scout for the Falcons. He had been a director of pro personnel for San Francisco coming here. He's had a focus in San Francisco's organization on trades, free agency, and waivers, and he has a deep focus on relationships specifically between the coach and the general manager, which he's coming from an organization in San Francisco that had Kyle Shanahan in place and let Shanahan help him pick a general manager

in John Lynch, which is kind of what's happening with the Titans now, and it's a joke that I've said throughout the all season, but the 49ers are what the Titans want to be when they grow up. The Titans want to have mediocre quarterback play, a game manager with an absolute stacked roster around them that can lead them to a deep postseason run. I mean, that's what the Titans are trying to build in Tennessee. So take the best version of it from San Francisco. So I think that's fantastic.

So I love Carthon as a pick. But one thing I want to mention here. Moving forward for offensive coordinator, you start to look at the candidates. And I was suspecting, personally, that they would hire Tim Kelly and just promote him from within because since Tim Kelly was hired before last all season or during last all season that's what I expected

to happen eventually anyway but this hire right here makes me think that the Titans will truly go outside the organization for fresh voices and for a fresh pair of eyes and for new blood I mean you got to have hope that that's going to happen. If you're somebody who did not want anything to do with the internal candidates, then this is great for you. This is fantastic. So right now, just want to point this out. Mike LaFleur, Matt LaFleur's brother,

was an offensive coordinator in San Francisco with Kyle Shanahan, but Kyle Shanahan calls the plays. So LaFleur went with Robert Sala, the former defensive coordinator of San Francisco, to the New York Jets. Now, Mike LaFleur was just fired as the offensive coordinator of the Jets, and you may be thinking, oh no, he was fired.

We can't hire him. No way. He had Zach Wilson and Joe Flacco and Mike White as his quarterback for the last few years. And the Jets have overperformed, in my opinion. The Jets were in the playoff race

for a lot of the time this year, dealing with Zach Wilson, who is clearly not an NFL quarterback right now. So Mike LaFleur has a relationship, or at least was in the building with Carthon during their time together in San Francisco. He runs a similar scheme to what the Titans are trying to do with the outside zone run, zone-based concepts, ton of play action, all of that. So, he would be perfect to fit in with what the Titans

are trying to do. So I think that's an easy connection that you could make right there for the Titans in their offensive coordinator situation. The point is for me though, it's so great that the Titans got this hire done right now and got this guy in place right now. that the Titans got this hire done right now. And got this guy in place right now. Okay? The timing is important. I said it last week.

The Titans need to do this right away. They can't drag their feet on this. So, I think this is a wonderful hire. I think the timing of it is fantastic. And, we're going to cap off the show talking about how I think this is a big thing for Amy Adams Strunk and our confidence

in her as an owner. What we saw here today is huge. Absolutely huge. But one thing I do want to mention as well, and some of you guys have been mentioning it in the chat. San Francisco will get a compensatory third round pick because the

Titans have hired Carthon. It's because Carthon is a person of color and the NFL installed that rule. And listen, I know a lot of you guys are going to bat your eye. I've seen the comments where people push back on this, but for me personally, having my football team that I love forwarding the game and hiring a person of color as a high-level executive, I'm proud of that. And that means a lot to me. And I am proud that the Titans can be a team

that can say, we're moving the game forward. We're bettering the sport of football. We're inclusive. We're giving opportunities to people who may have not gotten opportunities before. And for the fact that the Tennessee Titans, the team I cover and the team that I have loved for 25 years is a part of that pushing the game forward. I'm proud of that. If you bat your eye at it, that's on you. But for me personally, it's a big deal. And I'm very excited for the opportunity

that Carthon is going to get here. And I'm very excited that the Tennessee Titans gave him the opportunity to do so. So that's what I want to say about that. We're going to move forward here. We got a lot to discuss about what this means as a Tennessee Titans fan. Look, I gave you guys the information on Carthon. I gave you guys what I think is going to be next steps moving forward, hiring the offensive coordinator, getting the staff in place. Now I'm going straight to fan level. I'm going down to the emotional level. And we're just going to talk about how happy this makes me and how happy it

should make you that the Titans are putting their money where their mouth is about change. Boom, baby. I am so hyped about this. Can't wait to dive in to the rest of the discussion here before we get into it do want to tell you guys that today's show is sponsored by betonline.net betonline is your number one source for sports betting info stats news and analysis you can get all the latest odds and trends from every professional and amateur league out there. So they have pro football, college football, pro and college basketball. They even have esports at BetOnline.net. They're the fastest and easiest way to get all your betting info. Head to BetOnline.net today.

You can do so on your computer, on your mobile device. Either way, check out BetOnline where the game starts. Titans fans, we have a general manager. Not only that, but it is a general manager from outside the organization. New life, fresh eyes, new blood in the organization with a big seat at the table. This is a very, very exciting time for the Tennessee Titans. And look, guys, I'm just going to say this. The loss to Jacksonville was tough. Watching Jacksonville complete that awesome comeback. Didn't feel the best. No lie there. But the loss to Jacksonville, setting the Titans up where they are right now is absolutely huge. It was the best thing for the Titans to lose that game. If they win that game, Todd Downing might be back. They might promote Ryan Cowden and stay inside the organization

because of false pride and false results, basically. So, we have begun on a great path that can truly take the Titans to the next level. Okay? To the next level is what we're seeing here. Now, before I get into just my emotions as a Titans fan, do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day.

As I've said throughout the show, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all platforms and always free. You're not going to find that anywhere else. I'm going to go over 180 prospects in the draft. I'm going to go through every position in free agency, high-level targets, mid-level targets, low-level targets. You will not be more informed as a fan than you would be by listening to Locked on Titans podcast every single day.

So make sure you subscribe. Also, for your second listen, check out to Locked on Titans podcast every single day. So make sure you subscribe. Also, for your second listen, check out the Locked on NFL podcast. Get all your Titans news here with me. Get all your NFL news with the Locked on NFL podcast. I actually host a Thursday show, so you'd be showing me some support by subscribing over there as well. But guys, Amy Adam Strunk told us when she fired John Robinson that she wants this team to be a Super Bowl contender.

She wants this team to be a consistent playoff threat. Not barely sneaking in the back door with Josh Dobbs in the worst division in football. No, that ain't good enough. Amy Adams Strunk told us, good is not good enough. Good is not good enough. And you know what?

She followed up on it. If they would have promoted Tim Kelly, promoted Ryan Cowden, to me, it would be hard to sit here and tell you guys that she was serious about that. Because how can you say that this team needs to go from good to great and that good isn't good enough and then go out and just give jobs

to guys within your organization? That doesn't make a lot of sense. It doesn't. So, this move right here tells us that they are serious about evolving. One of my big complaints, my biggest complaint about the Tennessee Titans as an organization for the last 20 years

is that they refuse to modernize. The Titans have been playing that run the ball, play defense style for 20 years. They haven't modernized with analytics. John Robinson famously said at the Combine a year ago, I am the analytics department. Now look, you can think whatever you want to think about analytics, but what it says to me clearly is John Robinson didn't care about the modern way of doing things. He didn't care that the rest of the NFL had a huge analytics department.

It was a consistent theme of the Titans did not want to modernize. They didn't want to modernize their front office. They didn't want to modernize how they use data analysis. They didn't want to modernize their offensive and defensive philosophies on the football team. And this right here, bringing over a guy from San Francisco who is 41 years old, which is still young in the executive world, it proves to me that the Titans are serious about modernizing the organization.

And look, something that I brought up, if the Titans aren't modernized in analytics, where else may they not be modernized? Training methods, sports science, recovery, equipment. I've been contacted privately by people

who say that they've gone in to interview with the Titans and seen that they're not using certain technology and they're not using certain equipment that all other NFL teams and big time college program use. And they were shocked that the Titans didn't have those things available. So to me, San

Francisco, they have those things. San Francisco is modernized. So Carthon's not going to come over and be like, yeah, let's keep doing it this old school way. No. Carthon is going to come in and modernize the approach for the Titans. And not only is he going to do that, but Amy Adam Strunk hiring him to do that for them is a sign that they know things must change. This isn't just, hey, we need to make big changes. We're going to hire a new OC. We're going to fire John Robinson. No, no, no't just, hey, we need to make big changes. We're going to hire a

new OC. We're going to fire John Robinson. No, no, no, no, no, no. This is legitimate franchise altering change to modernize the Tennessee Titans and catch up with the rest of the NFL world. This is huge, man. This is huge. Not to mention the point I just brought up that Carthon is a person of color and the Titans in Tennessee are giving him an opportunity where not a lot of those opportunities have been given before.

I mean, I am so proud to be a Tennessee Titans fan today, not only from the modernization angle that I just mentioned, but also from forwarding the game. I mean, this is absolutely fantastic. Yes, I love that right there. Lethal Latin says, West Coast style Titans.

Now, a little crossover, West Coast Avengers. Very good spinoff of the regular Avengers. Maybe I'm getting a little too nerdy on you guys. But either way, I'm feeling that. West Coast Titans. feeling that West Coast Titans Doesn't West Coast Titans sound a lot better than the New England Titans? The Tennessee Patriots the old-school New England way of doing things This is a total 180 of that literally going from the east coast of the country to the west coast of the country. I

mean I love this. Yeah, David Brown, great point. This franchise will be unrecognizable when they open. And that's a good thing. No more 1990s Titans. No more, I am the analytics department. Good old boy crap. We're done with that.

We're done with that. The Titans are going to be a modern NFL organization. And let me just say this. If the Titans almost won the division three years in a row what are they going to do now when they actually have a modern approach? I mean I gave you guys my unbiased

just analysis of Carthon to start the show. I talked about what could come next in the offensive coordinator that makes the most sense now with Carthon in place. But right now, I'm just talking to you guys as a guy who's loved the Tennessee Titans since 1999. This is a great day. This is a great, and Amy Adams

Strunk. Amy Adams Strunk. I mean, shout out to you, mom. I have doubted you at certain turns and I just cannot believe that they really went out and did this. One last thing.

Because those of you guys who watch the show a lot know that I am not above getting a little petty. Okay? And all I want to say is, some of you guys, the reporting was crazy today. Let's just talk about that. The reporting was crazy.

So we got reports that the Titans completed their first interview with Malik Boyd, who is employed by the Buffalo Bills. Then immediately after that, we got reports from Mike Garofalo, from Ian Rappaport, from Albert Breer, that the Titans had three finalists for their second interviews with general managers. And it was Cowden, Carthon, and Cunningham. Coincidentally, my top three picks for general manager.

So literally, we got news of Boyd's first interview being done. Right after that, we got, hey, there are three finalists. Literally 20 minutes later, we found out that Ian Cunningham's second interview was completed on Monday. So they completed Cunningham's second interview before they ever did Boyd's first interview. That's weird. And I had people telling me, no, this doesn't mean that Malik Boyd is not a finalist. That's not what that means. They literally did a second interview with Cunningham before they completed the first interview with Boyd.

Boyd was not a finalist. So I had people trying to call me out for that. Ha! Try again. Okay? And then the Tennessean writes an article saying there are four finalists. I call out the Tennessean and say, hey, where's the source on that? We haven't seen any reports that Malik Boyd is a finalist.

And what did the Tennessean do? Delete the article. So, I just want to say, man, I don't get everything right. By all means, that's not what I'm trying to tell you. But if you've been watching this show for a while, I get enough right that when some of these people come after me and try to play the semantics

game and try to give me a break, man. Give me a break. If you refuse to read between the lines, then be naive all you want. But I'm here to read between the lines for you guys and let you know what it all really means. So, just to recap everything from today's show,

Ran Carthon, his name's Ron, but he goes by Ran. It's a nickname. So we're going with Ran Carthon. Ran Carthon, 41 years old, from the San Francisco 49ers, hired by the Titans. He is a former NFL player. His father had a much longer stint in the NFL. He has been a pro scout. He has been a director of pro personnel at multiple places in San Francisco. He had a focus

on trades, free agency, and waivers. He is also a relationship-focused guy who got to watch Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch form a partnership, which will be very similar to what him and Mike Vrabel are trying to do. I think this is a great opportunity for the Titans to consider hiring Mike LaFleur, who was just let go by the New York Jets. And at the end of the day, at the end of the day, this is a great day for Tennessee Titans fans, because this means that that old school good old boy

football philosophy the Titans have had since they moved to Tennessee is gone. We're getting West Coast modern NFL style thinking with Ran Carthon. Shout out to Mike Rabel for supporting the decision. Shout out

to Amy Adams Strunk for staying true to her word and pushing this organization forward. So, guys, going forward, the rest of the week, we gotta talk about what comes next. Will we see a scheme change from the Titans? Who are the offensive coordinator

candidates that make sense now? I mean, Jim Schwartz was hired by the Browns, but I don't even have time to talk about that, so maybe we'll get into that tomorrow. Derrick Henry went on busing and said he wants to bring a title to Nashville. I can't wait to talk about that. So much going on.

So much that's going to happen in the next few weeks. Make sure you stay locked in to the Locked on Titans podcast Monday through Friday. Tennessee Titans content all year round on all platforms, always free. That's going to do it for me today, though, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this is Locked on Titans.