The Tennessee Titans already have the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft, and now Mike Borgonzi will help them decide how to use it in April.
On Friday, the Titans announced they had hired Borgonzi, the assistant general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs, as their 15th general manager.
The Titans acted quickly, beginning virtual interviews on January 10 with 10 candidates over four days. The second round of interviews began on Tuesday with two candidates over three days, following the firing of Ran Carthon last week after the team posted a 9-25 record in his two seasons as general manager.
Borgonzi becomes the Titans’ third general manager since January 2016. His hiring comes exactly two years after the team hired Carthon, and Tennessee is now looking to break a three-season streak of losing records.
Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk praised Borgonzi’s experience, pointing to the Chiefs’ success in recent years.
“It’s the type of standard I want to build here in Tennessee,” Strunk said in a statement. “I know we have a lot of work ahead of us and I’m excited for Mike to get started.”
Strunk was among those who met with Borgonzi in person, along with Chad Brinker, president of football operations; Burke Nihill, president and CEO of the Titans; and Brian Callahan, who just finished his first season as head coach. Brinker said he had admired Borgonzi’s work for years and appreciated the detailed plan Borgonzi presented for the Titans.
“Mike should have been a general manager two years ago,” Brinker said. “He is ready for this job. … And this was the place that he wanted to be. When he came in the building, he said it just felt like a family here, and it reminded him a little bit of Kansas City and what they have been able to build there.”
Borgonzi will be introduced at a press conference next week. He was one of two candidates who interviewed virtually on Sunday and had a second interview with the Titans on Wednesday. Borgonzi had also interviewed with the New York Jets for their general manager position.
Borgonzi joins the Titans after 16 seasons with the Chiefs, who are the AFC’s No. 1 seed and two-time defending Super Bowl champions. Kansas City has appeared in four of the past five Super Bowls, winning three times since 2020.
Since 2021, Borgonzi served under Brett Veach as the Chiefs’ assistant general manager, overseeing their college and professional scouting operations and contributing to the team’s roster building.
A former fullback at Brown University, Borgonzi has worked in several roles within the Chiefs organization since joining in 2009. Before his current role, he was the director of football operations for three years.
Borgonzi’s brother, Dave, is currently the linebackers coach for the Chicago Bears. Borgonzi himself is from Everett, Massachusetts, and previously worked as an assistant recruiting coordinator at Boston College, helping the team win two Atlantic Coast Conference titles. Earlier in his career, Borgonzi was the tight ends coach at Amherst College in 2002 and worked in business.
The Titans have already decided to keep head coach Brian Callahan despite a rough 3-14 season. Borgonzi’s hiring comes just before the East-West Shrine Bowl on January 25 and the Senior Bowl on February 1, giving the Titans full access to scout draft-eligible players.
Titans offensive assistant Payton McCollum, who worked with wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert in 2024, will be the quarterbacks coach at the East-West Shrine Bowl. He will coach the West team, which includes Shedeur Sanders from Colorado, a top contender for the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft.
As of now, the Titans’ only quarterback under contract for the 2025 season is Will Levis, the 33rd overall pick in 2023. Levis struggled with turnovers in his second season and was benched before splitting snaps with backup Mason Rudolph in the season finale.
The Titans are also in a strong position financially, with around $55 million in projected salary cap space, ranking them 11th in the NFL. This, combined with their top draft pick and eight total selections, gives the Titans flexibility as they work to rebuild the team after a difficult 3-14 season.
From 2016 to 2021, the Titans had six consecutive winning seasons with a 68-38 record, a .608 winning percentage that ranked eighth in the NFL. During that period, they won two AFC South titles, reached the AFC Championship game (losing to the Chiefs in January 2020), and were the AFC’s No. 1 seed in 2021.
