First & Tenn

Tennessee Titans executives continue to talk about the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and continue to sound like a group that expects to use that pick on a quarterback. The latest comments to that effect came from general manager Mike Borgonzi and coach Brian Callahan at this week's NFL owners' meetings. Meanwhile, however, Callahan keeps talking up current quarterback Will Levis and the work that he is putting in this offseason.

The Tennessee Titans put on a show of force for Cam Ward's pro day at the University of Miami with an army of scouts, personnel people and others on hand. The question is: Does it show that the Titans have made up their mind to draft Ward, a quarterback, at No. 1 overall, or are they putting on a show for the rest of the league in an attempt to drive up the price another team might pay to trade for that No. 1 pick? On a related note, Tennessee made a move at quarterback this week, one which suggests a trade is at hand -- either with the pick or with Will Levis. Also, the question about who will be the kicker this season -- or at least who has the chance to nail down the job -- has been answered.

The Tennessee Titans signed a veteran quarterback in free agency, but their plan at that position is still not clear. The Titans signed a veteran wide receiver, but their depth at that spot looks insufficient and their plan is unclear. The Titans cut a veteran quarterback, which opens the door for one of last year's rookies but also saddles them with a lot of dead money. These moves show that after a 3-14 season, this team is very much a work in progress and there will be no quick-fix this offseason.

The Tennessee Titans did not agree deals with any big-name free agents in the days leading up to the start of the NFL's new contract year, but the deals that did get done indicate there is one trait that the team's brain trust, led by Chad Brinker and Mike Borgonzi, values above all others.

General manager Mike Borgonzi and coach Brian Callahan spoke this week at the NFL scouting combine. Predictably, quarterbacks were a prominent topic of conversation, and the general tone was that the Tennessee Titans could draft a quarterback this year, add one in free agency -- or both. In short, their media sessions did nothing to clarify where the franchise stands with its present quarterback, Will Levis. ... Harold Landry has been a consistent and productive -- if not a superstar -- over seven seasons with the Titans, who now have given him permission to seek a trade. Given his contract situation, it won't be easy to move Landry, but one way or another, it seems the Titans will be moving on from him. ... Results of the annual NFL Players' Association survey have been released, and -- generally speaking -- Titans players had good things to say about the organization and its leadership last season. Areas that were seen in a negative light in 2023 were addressed, and Callahan was well-regarded in his first year. There is one area, however, that players clearly said needs attention.

A former Tennessee Titans quarterback, Zach Mettenberger, has been named the football coach at a Nashville high school. It is the latest move in a long and winding (and not always successful) career that shows how much Mettenberger loves the game. ... A potential future Titans quarterback, Miami's Cam Ward, said this week that any team that does not draft him will regret that decision. Ward also talked about why he played only one-half of his team's bowl game. His quotes made headlines, but were they really noteworthy? And did they reveal anything about Ward that the Titans should consider as they weigh who to select with the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft. ... The end of the current contract year is fast approaching, and the Titans have 20 pending unrestricted free agents. None of them are big-time contributors, as was the case a year ago. In fact, none might be considered irreplaceable, particularly for a team that only won three games.

With the completion of Super Bowl LIX. the Tennessee Titans (and the rest of the NFL) officially can turn their attention to the future. Jalen Hurts' performance for Philadelphia in that game was the latest reminder that a team does not need a quarterback named Brady or Mahomes to be champions. The Eagles also showed that it helps to have some serious talent and production spread throughout the entire roster. Of course, the Titans, coming off a 3-14 season, have a quarterback who has -- to this point in his career -- looked nothing Mahomes or Brady, and the rest of the roster has some pretty serious holes. For general manager Mike Borgonzi and the rest of the personnel department, that means decisions must be made on what to do at quarterback, what to do with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and how to make sure the choices they make provide the biggest possible payoff.

The Tennessee Titans finally did what had been expected for so long. They fired special teams coordinator Colt Anderson after one year on the job. His replacement, John Fassel, has a long and productive history as an NFL special teams coordinator and looks -- by any measure -- to be a serious upgrade. ... Four other assistants are out or have moved on after their contracts were not renewed. One was passing game coordinator (defense) and cornerbacks coach Chris Harris, who arrived as part of Mike Vrabel's staff a couple years ago amid much fanfare. ... A week after Mike Borgonzi was hired as general manager, the Titans added two to their front office staff who have experience in that role. Former NFL general managers Reggie McKenzie and Dave Zieglers either give Tennessee an abundance of experience in roster-building and decision-making or they have too many cooks who ultimately will spoil the stew. ... The bulk of the Titans' personnel department spent last week at the East-West Shrine Bowl but did not see much of the main attraction, Colorado quarterback Shadeur Sanders. That does not mean they won't consider the son of a Pro Football Hall of Famer with the No. 1 overall pick.

The Tennessee Titans hired Mike Borgonzi to be their third general manager in the last 25 months. ... Borgonzi comes from the Kansas City Chiefs, where he was most recently assistant general manager, and continues a recent trend of the Titans hiring their top personnel man from a franchise with multiple Super Bowl appearances over the last decade. ... Franchise officials also did their best to clarify their new power structure in which the new general manager will report to the director of football operations, Chad Brinker. ... One of two unusual elements of the day was Brinker meeting with the media ahead of Borgonzi's press conference in an on-the-record session for which no audio or video recording was allowed so as not to distract from the day's main event. ... The second unusual element of the day was the absence of controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk, who apparently felt no responsibility to speak to or answer questions about the instability she has created by firing one of the franchise's central figures each of the last three years. ... Brinker and Borgonzi each talked about wanting to be a draft-and-develop organization, but they also put forth a formula that they believe can accomplish that goal.

The Tennessee Titans wasted no time in their search for a new general manager. Less than a week after Ran Carthon was fired, 10 candidates were interviewed virtually and six of those were selected to come to Nashville for a second, in-person interview. The only two of the 10 who previously worked as NFL general managers did not make the cut. One of those who did was a candidate two years earlier when Carthon was hired, and another has a long history with Chad Brinker, the man in charge of the search. ... Former Titans coach Mike Vrabel is the new head coach of the New England Patriots, which means he will be back in Nashville during the 2025 season when the Titans and Patriots meet at Nissan Stadium (date TBD). That game figures to serve as a sort of referendum for many on the merits of the decision to fire Vrabel a year ago. ... Carthon made an appearance on a Nashville radio station this week but did not offer anything of note about his time with the Titans or his ouster, which came less than a year after he was promoted a received a ringing endorsement from the owner. ... Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons created a bit of a social media uproar but did his best a day later to back away from it.