General manager Ran Carton is eager to rebuild the Titans and prove his ownership.
INDIANAPOLIS — Ran Carton just got a promotion, a bigger title and more control in his contract.
As executive vice president and general manager of the Titans, Carton is excited to have a new head coach in Brian Callahan, and looking to the future, he sees a number of options, including a top draft pick and a lot of ceiling space. An important path awaits. – to improve the football team he is rebuilding. He is flattering and motivated.
“You can’t ask for a greater honor than the trust of an owner,” Carton said of the NFL Combine. “I want to prove that Ms. Amy is right. I want to prove how much this means to Ms. Amy and how much this organization means to her and her family. I know. Yes, I want to prove him right.
“My number one goal has always been to give this city and this state something to be proud of, and that’s how I approach it every day. I can contractually control the roster and everything, but Curry and I still make all the decisions together.
Even when you disagree, you will find a way to make better decisions. It’s not just me, and it’s not just him. It’s about making the best decision for the organization, and that’s what we’re trying to do. »
Carton, Callahan, and the Titans certainly have work to do.
Fresh off a 6-11 season, Titans owner Amy Adams Srank has decided to part ways with coach Mike Vrabel. There was speculation that the decision was not just about results, but that there were good reasons for the result. After all, the franchise hasn’t won in the playoffs since the 2019 season, and the 2020 and 2021 teams entered the playoffs with similar success and quickly defied lofty expectations.
The Titans lost seven straight games against the AFC South in the final month of the season, ending the 2022 season with a 7-10 record. Over the past two seasons, the team has lost 18 of its last 24 games due to injuries and lack of foul play. The magic Vrabel used to win close games early in his administration faded somewhat in 2023, when the team lost seven games by one point.
Now, Carton is playing a key role in getting things back on track. Last month, Carton’s responsibilities expanded to include all areas impacting the football team, including roster management, team operations, personnel decisions including the draft and free agent acquisitions, oversight of Callahan and the coaching staff, and scouting.
Callahan, who was hired from a pool of candidates, said working with Carton in the first month was “amazing.”
“You know, Ran is a relationship builder,” Callahan said of Carton. “I’d like to say that’s kind of his superpower. But we’re on the same page, so if we’re on the same page with the front office and the coaching staff, we’re all on the same page.” Sometimes you can do a great job of finding the right people and the right players for your team. You’re on the same page.
You’re looking for the same thing. And that part was really fun. She loves being with Ran-chan every day. And Chad Brinker too. Between myself, Ran, Chad and Anthony Robinson, he’s probably in and out of each other’s offices 10 to 12 times a day. I mean, we’re still talking and going back and forth. But it was a really interesting partnership and a relationship that started to develop. It was a real feeling. ”
Of course, Carton is happy about that too.
But here in camp, Carton shared the halls of the Indianapolis Convention Center with Callahan, not Vrabel, and was willing to answer questions about his previous partnership with the team’s former head coach. While extending his optimism abou Ctallahan’s future, Carton also opened up about his relationship with Vrabel then and now in response to questions.
And he said he felt partially responsible for how things unfolded while Mr. Vrabel was unemployed. Of course, there are many theories about what happened inside Ascension St. Thomas Sports Park regarding decision-making over the past year.
NFL Network analyst Charles Davis said in an interview with com.
“When you’re a grandmaster and you have a coach like Mike Vrabel, you try to work collaboratively and collaboratively with someone like him, but Mike Vrabel is there, he’s a coach like Mike Vrabel. is a force of nature, and he doesn’t even try to be — he’s just who he is,” Davis said. “And [now that] the forces of nature are gone, Lan Carton may be given a chance to have his voice heard, even if he isn’t, but people are giving him a new You can see it with your eyes.
“That’s how it works: Mike was an established guy and Ran was a rookie. Ran wants a collaboration and is now given the chance to do it with Brian. ”
Carton said he worked with Vrabel to resolve the issue after he arrived at Tennessee from San Francisco after Vrabel’s fifth season with the team.
They got there, even if they didn’t agree on everything. Part of Mr. Carton regretted not clearing up the misconceptions about their relationship publicly sooner, saying there were lessons to be learned.
“Mike sometimes deferred (the decisions) to me, and I deferred to him,” Carton said. “There were some guys on the team that I had never played against, so I said, ‘Hey, Mike, you’ve been spending more time with this player and you know him a little bit more than I do. I know you very well.” “That’s why I obey you. Sometimes I obey him, but that’s part of the partnership. But he also obeys me.” It’s a two-way street.
“People were talking so much about his relationship with me that it just wasn’t true. At least from my point of view, we’ve never had any arguments or disagreements about the players. ”
Additionally, Mr. Carton said he remained in contact with Mr. Vrabel even after Mr. Vrabel left. Since then, they have wished each other success in their endeavors. Carton said her 16-year-old daughter sees a picture of herself and Vrabel every time she picks up her phone.
“Mike and I have been corresponding ever since, and he congratulated me when I hired Curry,” Carton said. “When I look at my daughter’s screen saver on her phone, I see her and Coach Vrabel because they had a very close relationship. If there was a real disagreement between us, Everything would not have turned out this way.» Even when we let go (of the microphone), my daughter reached out to him and he responded to her. And they have a good relationship. … There’s no real animosity or anything like that (against us).
“I have a lot of respect for Mike and what he did for that game and what he meant. Of course you wanted it to go well, And I feel responsible for why it didn’t happen, and you should. But what we have with Curry is moving forward and upward.
Yes, up and up.
It’s the last day of February, and the Titans have less than two weeks until free agency and money to spend. The Titans are one of the best teams in the NFL in terms of cap space.
The Titans have the No. 7 overall pick in the first round of the draft, giving them the No. 8 overall pick. While there are questions about running back Derrick Henry’s future, there is reason to be optimistic about the team’s young quarterback, Will Revis, who is completing his rookie season.
In many ways, this is a new beginning for Carton. He has great hopes and certainly great motivation.
“Our long-term goal is to make this football team a consistent winner,” Carton said.
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.