NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Once the Titans had added Dave Ziegler as assistant general manager and Reggie McKenzie as a senior advisor to their once-again revamped front office, I thought, ‘Wow, that is a lot of cooks in the kitchen.’”
 
It’s certainly the biggest front office the Titans have ever had, an additional high-salaried job bigger than a Chad Brinker-Ran Carthon-Anthony Robinson-AJ Highsmith front office from 2024.

Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie watches as players stretch during an NFL football rookie minicamp in Alameda, Calif., Friday, May 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Reggie McKenzie in 2016/ ASSOCIATED PRESS

When it comes to deciding who to pick with the No. 1 draft pick, or whatever the byproducts of a trade with it are, the Titans now have…

  • Brinker, the president of football operations, has the final say on all football matters
  • Mike Borgonzi is the general manager
  • Ziegler
  • McKenzie
  • A.J. Highsmith is the director of scouting
  • John Salge is the director of college scouting

Plus, a national scout, an area scout, coach Brian Callahan, either offensive coordinator Nick Holz or Dennard Wilson depending on which side of the ball a prospect plays and a position coach.
 
It’s unclear where Highsmith factors in on pro vs. college and obviously the voices at the top will have the loudest say, with Borgonzi ultimately guiding the direction and Brinker having the final say.
 
But that’s conceivably 11 people chiming in.

That seems like a lot.
 
But a lot is absolutely in vogue.
 
The five winningest teams of the last five years are all in the same ballpark. Not knowing job definitions in their front offices, I’d tab the Chiefs at 11, the Bills (who don’t go deep cataloging their scouting staff) at 10, the Packers at nine, the Ravens at 10 and the Eagles at 11.
 
“When I was in Kansas City, (at one point) we had Chris Ballard, Ryan Poles, myself, (Brett) Veach, (Mike) Bradway,” Borgonzi told reporters at the Senior Bowl. “We used to call it the ‘Cabinet People.’ I see that very similar. Different ideas. We don’t all think alike, we come from different backgrounds, but also speak the same language -- Reggie does coming from that Green Bay system. So the more smart people we can get in here, with really good ideas, the better.”
 
He said that with the Chiefs titles didn’t mean much, but part of that too was that Andy Reid won what was reportedly a power struggle with GM John Dorsey in 2017 gaining a large measure of control with the contract extension he secured the same day Dorsey was fired.
 
And if the title are confusing in terms of figuring out who does what, consider the Eagles, who have two assistant GMs, two vice presidents of player personnel and two senior personnel directors. It certainly worked for them as they put together a roster that is going to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years. 
 
There is nothing wrong with having multiple smart people in the same office so long as everyone knows and is comfortable with his role. McKenzie had seven years at the helm of Oakland, and after three years of Mike Mayock and a move to Las Vegas, Ziegler had a two-year term as GM of the same franchise.
 
Borgonzi said they are scouts at heart, though some of Ziegler’s responsibilities will be with operational stuff.
 
“I’ve known Dave and I’ve known Reggie for a long time,” Borgonzi said. “Tremendous people, first of all. Very respected in the business. Tremendous evaluators. They’ll be a great sounding board for all of us. They’ve both been in the chair before. I’ve just got a ton of respect for them and I think if you talk to other people in the league, you’ll hear the same thing. We’re just excited. They’ll be part of the whole process, the college, the pro, getting things aligned and organized…
 
“They going to be a great asset to the entire organization.” 

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