New Titans GM Ran Carthon brings roster construction skills to Tennessee

Ben Arthur

AFC South Reporter

Roster construction doomed Jon Robinson.

The former Titans general manager, who was fired Dec. 6, had a series of personnel missteps pile on top of each other in recent years, capping Tennessee’s ceiling in what many believed was a Super Bowl window. There were the misses via free agency and trade — Jadeveon Clowney (2020), Vic Beasley (2020) and Julio Jones (2021) to name a few. There were the whiffed draft classes of 2020 and ‘21, and the fact that in more than six seasons, Robinson didn’t sign one of his first-round picks to a second contract.

The Titans ended their disappointing 2022 campaign with a largely older, injured roster. Which is why it was so important for the team to nail the hire for Robinson’s replacement.

On Wednesday, Tennessee announced Ran Carthon as its new general manager. The 41-year-old, who becomes the first Black GM in franchise history, served as the San Francisco 49ers‘ director of player personnel the previous two seasons after five years as the team’s director of pro personnel. A former running back with the Colts (2005-06) and son of ex-NFL player and coach Maurice Carthon, Ran Carthon rose from pro scout with the Falcons (2008-11) to director of player personnel with the St. Louis/L.A. Rams (2012-16) before joining the 49ers.

San Francisco is recognized as one of the best-run organizations in the NFL, a franchise known for its quality drafting and veteran additions year in and year out. Just look at its current roster, a legitimate Super Bowl contender with its third-string quarterback — rookie Brock Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 draft — and perhaps the league’s most impressive group of skill players around him (running back Christian McCaffrey, wide receiver Deebo Samuel, tight end George Kittle).

It’s a roster that Carthon played a key role in constructing, insight he’ll now bring to Nashville.

As San Francisco’s director of player personnel, he was responsible for evaluating top college prospects and assisting the construction of the team’s free agency board, according to his 49ers bio. He also worked in conjunction with the football administration staff on player market analysis. As director of pro personnel, Carthon looked closely at the waiver wire, handled week-to-week scouting reports of opponents during the season and was heavily involved in the free agency process.

Since Carthon joined San Francisco, the team drafted Kittle (four-time Pro Bowler, one-time All Pro), linebacker Fred Warner (two-time Pro Bowler, two-time All Pro), edge rusher Nick Bosa (three-time Pro Bowler, one-time All Pro), Samuel (one-time Pro Bowler, one-time All Pro), receiver Brandon Aiyuk (a 1,000-yard receiver this season) and safety Talanoa Hufanga (one-time Pro Bowler, one-time All Pro). In the past two years, the 49ers also traded for left tackle Trent Williams and McCaffrey.

Carthon’s job description with the Niners suggests he has been most directly involved in the process that has landed veterans via free agency. That would include current starters like perennial Pro Bowl fullback Kyle Juszczyk, cornerback Charvarius Ward and defensive lineman Samson Ebukam. Perennial Pro Bowlers like cornerback Richard Sherman (2018-20) and center Alex Mack (2021) joined San Francisco at the end of their playing careers as productive starters in Carthon’s tenure.

“He brings a variety of valuable experiences to our team — as a former player and a successful personnel executive for multiple teams,” Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk told the team website. “I was impressed with his natural leadership qualities and his ability to connect with people. With talent evaluation being critical to this role, the roster they have built in San Francisco stands out. He played an important role there constructing one of our league’s best teams.”

For Adams Strunk, Carthon is a hire who brings much-needed new blood and a fresh perspective into the organization. She also told the team website that having a “collaborator” as the new general manager was critically important; someone who can work well with her and coach Mike Vrabel so they’re all “rowing [in the] same direction.”

Carthon told the media last week that the No. 1 thing he learned working with the 49ers was the importance of the relationship between GM John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan.

“John and Kyle are aligned and have a clear vision of what they want from players at every position,” Carthon said. “That allows us to have our marching orders and allows us to just go out and hunt for those players.”

With Carthon, Tennessee’s decision-makers appear positioned to hunt for the players who will improve the roster construction for years to come.

Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

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