Mike BorgonziNASHVILLE, Tenn. – In Mike Borgonzi the Titans will get a GM who’s been part of building a three-time Super Bowl champion roster and the reigning back-to-back title holders.

I’ve confirmed multiple reports that the franchise has chosen him and will work to reach a contract agreement.

The success of Chiefs while he’s been part of the front office has been unmatched in this span. Of course it's been keyed by Patrick Mahomes, a two -ime MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP and Andy Reid, another future Hall of Famer. 

He was obviously working for a team a great coach and quarterback.

Still, one big question looms as the Titans replace Ran Carthon with Borgonzi and have him work under Chad Brinker.

Is he too much like Brinker?

Their paths are quite similar, as they worked their way up through their first NFL organizations in similar ways.

Brinker was a scouting intern for a year with the Packers, a scouting assistant for two years and a pro scout for six before he got on the executive path:

  • Assistant director of pro scouting/salary cap analyst, 2018-20
  • Personnel/football administration executive, 2021-22
  • Assistant general manager, Titans, 2023
  • President of football operations, 2024-present

Borgonzi, after a year as the Chiefs college scouting administration and another as manager of football operations, was the team's pro personnel scout for two years. Then...

  • Assistant director of pro scouting, 2013-14
  • Co-director of player personnel, 2015-16
  • Director of player personnel, 2017
  • Director of football operations, 2018-20
  • Assistant general manager, 2021-24

There is not a lot of front-line, on-the-road college scouting between them.

Brinker led the GM search after he assumed his seat at the head of the Titans’ when they fired Carthon two days after a 3-14 season ended and they earned the No. 1 pick in the draft. The NFL judged the post to be the top one in the team's front office, though Brinker has full authority on all football matters.

The search included 10 first-round virtual interviews just with Brinker and six second-round in-person interviews that included Amy Adams Strunk and Brian Callahan.

“This is an attractive job for a lot of people and particularly for those who grew up in this industry the way that I have,” Brinker said on Jan. 7. “Who kind of cut their teeth as a scout and projecting players from college to pro and they just want to get up and focus on building a roster and not have to worry about running the video department, or an analytics team or the equipment room or whatever. 

“Just all they want to do is scout, go out on the road in the fall and find football players. Because we’ve got to get it right. We have to get good football players in this building, we have to get playmakers in this building, particularly at positions that influence the outcomes of games.”

Borgonzi really did cut his teeth the way Brinker did in the early stages of his career. One scout I spoke with pointed to what he called a Cardinal Rule: Never hire someone like you.

As assistant GM for the last four seasons, the Chiefs say Borginzi supervised and directed the team's college and professional scouting operations while closely supporting and advising GM Brett Veach.

Borgonzi may prove to be a fantastic GM, and we know Brinker will have final say over all football-related matters above him. We should all give him every chance to be one. I look forward to meeting him, hearing from him and getting to know him.

But I’m also approaching everything the flailing Titans do with skepticism, suspended judgment and the need for proof. Remember, we pointed to Carthon coming from the successful 49ers as a big reason for great expectations just two years ago.

I wouldn't think the Titans can hurt themselves by adding a high-ranking guy from a franchise that’s consistently been the NFL’s best. Just from being part of the Chiefs' excellence, from being around an MVP and Super Bowl MVP quarterback in Patrick Mahomes and a Hall of Fame coach in Andy Reid, Borgonzi can bring the Titans things they have lacked.

They had six good-looking candidates to choose from.

Brinker and Borgonzi had a pre-existing relationship. After the Titans traded a third-round pick for L'Jarius Sneed, Brinker told me he and Borginzi did much of the talking during the deal because of their friendship.

When we look for the start of the downfall of the Titans, many points to choose from present themselves: The retirement of Steve Underwood in 2020, the drafting of Isaiah Wilson the same year, the trade of AJ Brown in 2022.

The Titans surely hope there are moments we will look back on and consider as turning points for a bounceback, and the hiring of Borgonzi is one of them.

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