The Tennessee Titans fan survey results are out and loud. One of the most revealing findings had nothing to do with Robert Saleh or Mike Borgonzi. It was about controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk and how badly respondents want to hear from her.

Getting her to speak directly could be the biggest change this survey creates. A to Z Sports’ Easton Freeze secured a response from president and CEO Burke Nihill after a week of declined media requests following the firing of three business-side VPs. Nihill’s statement is a win. The biggest W still on the board is hearing from his boss.

Titans fans want to hear from Amy Adams Strunk, badly

Head coaches and general managers are required to talk due to the league’s rules. Saleh talks four times a week. NFL general managers talk at set points throughout the year. Borgonzi chooses to make himself available more than that, and I’ve never had a huge issue with him on that front.

Strunk is a different story. She splits her time between Houston and Nashville, and nearly all of her recent public speaking has come at periphery events. The most recent example was the celebration of life for the late Dave McGinnis in late May. None of it touches the actual football product.

When the Titans hire or fire someone, a statement comes through the PR department. You know the type. It reads something like, “We want to thank insert-name-here so much for his time and we love his family and all these things.”

But does she speak? No.

Do fans want her to? The answer is pretty clear:

– 49.8 percent rated their interest in hearing from her a 10 out of 10 

– More than 63 percent answered eight, nine, or 10, which we counted as wanting to hear from her badly 

– Fewer than two in 10 were wholesale uninterested

The follow-up question was the only “choose all that apply” item on the survey. 

Fans were asked what Strunk could say that would give them some satisfaction. Another 43.2 percent said they weren’t sure she could say anything satisfying. However, only 25.9 percent picked that option by itself. That means roughly three-fourths of respondents want to hear something from her. A comfortable majority want her to take responsibility for, and voice her frustration over, the current state of the team.

The Burke Nihill numbers in the survey tell a different story

Titans president and CEO Burke Nihill got the same pair of questions, with split results.

More than four in 10 respondents want to hear from Nihill badly, and 30.9 percent gave him a 10 out of 10. Then there’s the other side. One in four respondents are as uninterested as they possibly could be, and 43.4 percent checked only the box saying nothing he could say would satisfy them.

Those who do want to hear from him want specifics. Think about the firings of three executives last week and the team’s general hiring and firing practices. Acknowledging frustration doesn’t cut it for that group.

Are those fans out on Nihill entirely? Or is it simply less interest in what the head of the business has to say? It could go either way. Still, the gap between him and Strunk is roughly 20 percentage points. It’s not the opposite result, but it’s a BIG difference.

Nihill’s statement, and what would have moved the needle

Nihill went on the record in response to the survey, after the team had given nothing to the media asking for six days. Credit to Easton, and credit to the 7,813 of you who pried it out of the building.

“We appreciate any and all feedback that our fans take the time to provide, whether it comes through our post-game surveys, emails, and calls, or the conversations that happen in between. Every response tells us something about what it means to be a Titans fan, and we don’t take that for granted. We want to win, and we want to hear about the experience fans are having, both in the stadium and away from it, and what we can do better to earn their trust. That trust is not given. It’s earned. And we know it’s our job to keep earning it. We look forward to reading the results of this survey, learning from what our fans have to say and using their voices to guide us as we work to build something they can be proud of.”

It’s something. It’s more than nothing.

Everyone understands no statement flips a switch and turns the Titans into a winning, competent organization. The team gets that too. So my one question for anyone unhappy with it: what would you have found satisfactory? If you don’t like it, you should have to say what you’d have liked.

Easton said he told the organization that people wanted to feel seen and heard, with a response that felt genuine. I agree. I wanted a direct acknowledgment of the 0-5 start and the frustration surrounding the product on the field.

Around here, we act like it’s impossible to reach Strunk. Like it’s illegal for her to talk. It shouldn’t be that way. A short video message from her responding to nearly 8,000 fans in 24 hours would have been the most meaningful thing the Titans could have done. Some would call it performative. Given how rare it is to hear her speak about football, I think most would see it as a real gesture.

Maybe she still speaks. Strunk has the results now, including a clear request from more than 63 percent of respondents to hear directly from her.

Answering would show fans she considers that request worth her time. Staying silent would leave them to draw their own conclusions.

Either way, she is going to send a message. She still has the opportunity to deliver it herself.