Titans latest hire looks to be a hot commodity around the NFL
The Tennessee Titans have hired Green Bay Packers personnel/football administration executive Chad Brinker to be the team's new Assistant General Manager. Brinker will assist Ran Carthon in Tennessee's new collaboration-heavy front office in 2023 following the Titans' mid-season firing of former GM Jon Robinson. Like Carthon, Brinker is a former NFL running back. He signed […]
The Tennessee Titans have hired Green Bay Packers personnel/football administration executive Chad Brinker to be the team's new Assistant General Manager.
Brinker will assist Ran Carthon in Tennessee's new collaboration-heavy front office in 2023 following the Titans' mid-season firing of former GM Jon Robinson. Like Carthon, Brinker is a former NFL running back. He signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2003 before beginning his corporate business career.
Tennessee now has a head coach, GM, and assistant GM that were all once players in the NFL. That's not a coincidence considering the collaborative mission of the franchise and the shared perspective former players can have on scouting and development.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about Brinker as the Titans' new front office hire is how wide sought after he has been around the league. Brinker is a hot commodity in today's NFL and one of the up-and-coming executives in the sport.
During the 2021 offseason, New England Patriots director of player personnel Dave Ziegler (who is now the GM for the Las Vegas Raiders) requested to interview Brinker for a front office job to help lead the Patriots' salary cap operation.
Brinker has a strong knowledge of the business side of the NFL and the league's salary cap. Brinker spent years working with Packers director of football operations Russ Ball at managing Green Bay's cap before being offered the job in New England.
The Packers, however, blocked Brinker from taking the interview and instead promoted him to personnel/football administration executive in order to keep him within the organization. Other team's want him, but the Packers have also been incredibly motivated to keep Brinker within their organization.
On top of that, Brinker has been on almost every list of the top future GM candidate, including one from Sports Illustrated in December 2021 where Albert Breer wrote the following:
The 41-year-old Chad Brinker played at Ohio Univ. and was good enough to get into camp with the Jets, before embarking on a career in pharmaceutical sales. He found his way back to football with the Packers 12 years ago and has been a jack of all trades since, while playing a big role in modernizing the Packers’ old-school scouting operation. He also recently got his MBA from Northwestern, so the 41-year-old touches a lot of bases from a résumé standpoint.
Brinker's player background and reputation around the league give every reason to believe he will be a fantastic fit within the Titans new front office. Tennessee crushed this hire.
Image via Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
