When the Titans fired G.M. Ran Carthon and handed final say over football matters to president of football operations Chad Brinker, a potential issue arose.
If Brinker holds the power over the team’s football decisions, can the Titans interview executives from other teams?
It turns out that they can.
According to Jonathan Jones of CBSSports.com, the league has reviewed the job description for the revised G.M. position, and it has determined that it will be the “primary football executive post.” Even if, you know, it isn’t.
It looks and feels like a page from the make-it-up-as-we-go playbook, with the Titans now able to hire a non-G.M. from another team for a G.M. job that doesn’t hold full G.M. powers.
The wand-waving by the league office has a collateral benefit to Big Shield. It helps obscure a potential Rooney Rule violation that occurred when Brinker: (1) was promoted from assistant G.M. to president of football operations without a search in 2024; and (2) was handed final say over all football matters this week, also without a search.
The league office, which is still facing a race discrimination lawsuit from Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Steve Wilks, and Ray Horton, isn’t in the business of proclaiming to the world that teams have violated the bare-bones and easily satisfied procedure for ensuring minimal diversity in the hiring process. Even if the Titans took liberties with the rule by running a two-step shell game for Brinker, the NFL gains nothing by finding it to be a violation.
That’s the other side of the make-it-up-as-we-go coin. Sending a clear message of nothing-to-see-here.