The Tennessee Titans are currently sitting in first place in the AFC South conference by quite a pretty comfortable margin and appear to be headed to yet another postseason appearance under head coach Mike Vrabel, but the team made an absolutely shocking move that nearly nobody expected on Tuesday afternoon, firing general manager Jon Robinson.
Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network were the first to report the shocking news on Tuesday.
The #Titans are firing GM Jon Robinson, per me and @TomPelissero. pic.twitter.com/21ozpvUscA
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 6, 2022
From #Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk on the firing of GM Jon Robinson. pic.twitter.com/sJbgjnO7S1
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 6, 2022
“Since becoming controlling owner in 2015, my goal has been to raise the standard for what is expected in all facets of our organization,” Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement. “I believe we have made significant progress both on and off the field through investments in leadership, personnel and new ideas. This progress includes the core of our business, the football team itself, which is regularly evaluated both by results (wins and losses) and team construction/roster building. I am proud of what we have accomplished in my eight seasons of ownership, but I believe there is more to be done and higher aspirations to be met.”
It’s an absolutely wild turn of events, and the NFL world had plenty to say about it.
I'm sure it's not just because of this but the timing of this happening the week after AJ Brown destroys the teams that traded him is pretty wild.
Mid-season GM firings are rare…especially for good teams. https://t.co/uJwxB4jND5
— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) December 6, 2022
Wild development. The Titans made the playoffs in four of his six full seasons, got to the AFC title game in 2019, and are closing in on their third straight AFC South title in this, Robinson's seventh year as GM. https://t.co/P4oLsacUg1
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 6, 2022
If this is for purely football reasons it's pretty, pretty weird. https://t.co/jCIDJw0nT2
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) December 6, 2022
Wow… that's legitimately shocking to me. I figured Robinson would get at least one more offseason to right the ship offensively.
My guess, and this is only a guess, is that Mike Vrabel either gets control over personnel or that he gets a ton of say in who the new GM is. https://t.co/UeI5CUT4Dc
— Mike Herndon (@MikeHerndonNFL) December 6, 2022
Doing this right after getting torched by AJ Brown is kind of funny https://t.co/PA8ywfq1Ho
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) December 6, 2022
A midseason firing like this (while on their way to easily making the playoffs) surely means something else is up behind the scenes.
…Or that AJ Brown trade manifesting itself into Sunday's blowout was too much to handle. https://t.co/oMG1gXxQVn
— Field Gulls (@FieldGulls) December 6, 2022
It’s not clear exactly what led to this decision, but it is surprising nonetheless.
