WEBVTT - The OTP | Introducing Titans GM Ran Carthon 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:13.200 This is the OTP presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans, 0:00:13.200 --> 0:00:18.200 celebrating seventy six years of providing Tennessee's with high quality 0:00:18.320 --> 0:00:23.360 health coverage at an affordable price. Visit FBHP dot com 0:00:23.360 --> 0:00:26.360 to learn about our history in Tennessee. With Amy Wells, 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:29.319 I'm Mike Keith on a busy day at a Cention St. 0:00:29.360 --> 0:00:32.200 Thomas Sports Park, but an exciting day. Doesn't it feel 0:00:32.200 --> 0:00:36.599 good to be busy? It does, and today was extremely exciting. 0:00:36.680 --> 0:00:41.040 We recorded this on Friday, January the twentieth, and just 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:44.600 a little while ago, Ran Carthon had his first press 0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:48.360 conference as he's introduced as general manager. Amy Adam Strunk 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:52.199 very excited to introduce him, Mike Vrabel, very excited to 0:00:52.280 --> 0:00:56.520 work with him. I mean he won the press conference, 0:00:56.520 --> 0:00:58.920 There's no question about it. I mean he blew everybody away. 0:00:59.320 --> 0:01:02.680 I don't think anyone who had heard the build up 0:01:02.760 --> 0:01:06.520 to him is surprised that he won the press conference. Amy, No, 0:01:06.720 --> 0:01:09.520 absolutely not. I mean anybody you talked to in the 0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:14.040 National Football League, anybody who has spoken on him publicly 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:17.520 at all in the last week or so, has had 0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:20.160 glowing things to say about Ran. And I think we 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:24.880 all saw that today, ton of charisma, ton of excitement, 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:29.440 and you can tell he's passionate about this job, this opportunity, 0:01:29.480 --> 0:01:32.080 and also this football team. And I think that those 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:37.119 three things are all good by me. I'm just over 0:01:37.200 --> 0:01:40.120 the moon. Everybody blown away to by the video from 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:44.120 Thursday of him entering Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park and 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:47.520 the staff on hand to greet him, and what that 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:50.040 meant to both he and his family. Absolutely, it was, 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:54.840 I mean a beautiful moment. The video, it just blows 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:57.120 you away, you know. And the Titans posted it and 0:01:57.120 --> 0:01:59.680 I got a ton of things from people all across 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:03.160 the NFL just kind of talking about what a cool 0:02:03.800 --> 0:02:07.800 moment that was. You could tell it really touched him, 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:10.040 and I think it also really kind of touched Aby 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:13.799 Adam Strunk. She seemed blown away by the fact that 0:02:14.080 --> 0:02:17.760 every area of the club, from the ticket office to 0:02:17.800 --> 0:02:22.640 the marketing department, to coaching staff and scouts, everybody was 0:02:22.760 --> 0:02:27.239 there and it showed how this team has really kind 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:31.240 of come together, and the collective organization, not just the 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:33.960 football side, not just the business side, but the collective 0:02:34.120 --> 0:02:38.680 organization is excited about this higher and this next chapter 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:42.080 for this team. Let's hear from ran Carthon, as I 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:44.320 had a chance to sit down and visit with him 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:50.519 about more than just football, about his dad, his perception 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:53.519 of this job. Coming back to this part of the country, 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:56.840 you'll hear that he is a very serious Florida Gator 0:02:56.880 --> 0:03:00.480 to this day. Still this and a lot more rant 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:09.960 Carthon joining us on the a T T. This is 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:13.640 the man of the hour, the Titans New GM, and 0:03:13.760 --> 0:03:16.280 we have to start with the most important part. I say, 0:03:16.639 --> 0:03:20.440 because I watched your dad play in the usfl Maurice Carthon, 0:03:20.840 --> 0:03:23.400 I say Carthon because that's how they said it on TV. 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:27.799 Is that your preferred pronunciation? We can, yes, that's how 0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:32.799 I pronounce it. My mom pronounced it Carthon. Since everybody 0:03:32.840 --> 0:03:35.080 has their own my mom said it when when you 0:03:35.120 --> 0:03:38.000 got hired, she said Carthon. I said, I think it's Carthon. 0:03:38.200 --> 0:03:41.480 So I use Carthon. I use Carthon, he uses Carthon. 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:43.840 Everybody has their own version of it, but we'll roll 0:03:43.880 --> 0:03:47.280 with Carthon. Titans fans say, Carthon, you're doing just fine, 0:03:47.360 --> 0:03:49.640 all right, So when you're looking for players, I want 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:51.200 to I want to throw the stead at you about 0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:54.480 your dad. Okay, So in nineteen eighty five, he played 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:57.120 twenty two games for the New Jersey General Do you 0:03:57.120 --> 0:03:59.600 know this, Yes, he played twenty two games for the 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:03.760 New Years Generals. Then he walked sixty five steps from 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:06.840 the General's locker room at the Meadowlands to the Giants 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:09.760 locker room at the meadow Lands, and then he played 0:04:09.800 --> 0:04:13.400 twenty three games for the Giants. So, in the space 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:15.960 of less than a year, your dad played in forty 0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:18.960 five games. Can you find us some players like that? 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:23.720 I don't think those existing the first time? Limitations and 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:25.880 but no, he told me that story, and I was 0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:27.599 I was unaware of that story. He told me that 0:04:27.760 --> 0:04:30.800 man probably about eight years ago he told me that story. 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:33.160 I think he had a two week window from when 0:04:33.200 --> 0:04:36.680 the USFL season ended versus when he signed with the Giants. 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:40.479 And he told me legitimately he almost retired following that 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:42.919 season just because the total took on his body, and 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:47.080 especially as a lead blocking you know, fullback who didn't 0:04:47.120 --> 0:04:49.320 touch the ball. He just was a battering round. Was 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:52.080 an extension of the old line. But yeah, that's a 0:04:52.240 --> 0:04:55.200 that's a crazy step. What's the main trait you think 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:58.400 you take from your dad? And you carry on into 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:01.000 your life to this day. Work. That's the first thing 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:03.640 come to mind. I tell people I'm an early riser. 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:06.880 I got that from my dad. Like my biological clock, 0:05:06.960 --> 0:05:10.520 no matter what coast i'm I'm up by four forty seven, 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:13.000 and it's specifically for forty seven, you know, And it's 0:05:13.040 --> 0:05:16.400 no alarm. And that's just my biological clock. My dad 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:19.080 when he was coaching, he was in the office by 0:05:19.080 --> 0:05:22.080 four or thirty. Guy. You know, my dad worked extremely 0:05:22.120 --> 0:05:24.000 hard and that's that was him all the way through. 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:26.400 And you know, I mean ultimately he had a he 0:05:26.440 --> 0:05:29.240 had a stroke in twenty fourteen New Year's Day, and 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:31.520 that was a lot of you know, stress from the 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:34.280 way he worked in not allowing his body to regenerate. 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:37.280 But you know, the way I'm hard wired comes from 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:39.920 him to you know, I'll be in here early. That's 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:42.200 just who I am. I get my best works done then. 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:45.000 But that's the quality I think I've took the most 0:05:45.040 --> 0:05:48.400 from my dad. Ran What was it like telling your 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:52.320 mom and dad I'm a GM in the NFL as 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:54.520 of today? So it's funny. My dad and I we 0:05:54.520 --> 0:05:56.520 were talking about it last night when he got in town. 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:58.760 He was like you told me the news so calm. 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:01.160 He was like, I was just waiting no more. I 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:03.000 didn't know if you were serious. And I kind of 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:06.039 got that consistently. Even my wife didn't take me serious. 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:08.039 But you know, like I've said before, I was in 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:10.440 the middle of an airport terminal, you know, so I 0:06:10.440 --> 0:06:13.839 couldn't be too excited and run. You have this vision 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:16.560 of you know, when I get that call that I'm 0:06:16.600 --> 0:06:18.560 going to be named the GM of a place, like 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:20.800 I'm it's like draft day where you see the guys 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:23.880 jump up in family's check. I'm in a terminal with strangers, 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:27.239 you know, And so I just tried to compose myself 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:29.080 as much as possible where he was just giving me 0:06:29.120 --> 0:06:30.839 a hard time last night that I was just way 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:33.640 too calm. Found a couple of quotes from you from 0:06:33.920 --> 0:06:35.840 twenty twelve. I want to read them to you and 0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:40.719 see how much they still apply. That's what I'm all about. 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:46.040 I'm all about winning, even more so than in twenty twelve. 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:49.640 I mean now in twenty twelve, I'm I'm assuming at 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:52.039 the time I was with the Rams may have just 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:54.280 gotten hired by the Rams. So I'm playing a key 0:06:54.360 --> 0:06:57.880 part in Lesson's operation. And I tell guys in the 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:00.080 office all the time, whether you agree or disagree with 0:07:00.120 --> 0:07:03.119 the decision. Let's just use Less as example. Since we're talking, 0:07:03.320 --> 0:07:06.240 we're here to execute Less's vision. Right, So I'm just 0:07:06.320 --> 0:07:09.080 a soldier in Less's army, and now I get to 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:11.520 be the general, you know, of an army. So it's 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:15.560 really more it's important, you know, like I said, to win, 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:17.680 you know, and it's even more important now than I'm 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:20.920 the general. All right, here's another one. I never run 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:25.720 away from competition. I'm a very competitive guy. I'm feeling 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:29.080 like that came from my college days and I know 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:32.200 the exact time we had a log jam in the backfield. 0:07:32.520 --> 0:07:36.000 And I'm not afraid of competition, you know. I'm one 0:07:36.040 --> 0:07:39.280 of those people that I'm good with having the uncomfortable conversation, 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:41.240 you know, because sometimes you just need to take things 0:07:41.240 --> 0:07:44.280 head on, and whether you win or lose, you usually 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:46.600 get better, you know, when you compete on something. So 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:49.800 that still holds true. All Right, you're an SEC guy. 0:07:50.240 --> 0:07:53.840 You're back in SEC country. It feels like that was 0:07:53.920 --> 0:07:56.440 part of the allure of this job, was to get 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:59.560 back here where you know, football just means a little 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:02.680 bit more no matter what level it's. Yeah, it was, 0:08:02.760 --> 0:08:05.440 It's super important and I'm gonna have to be careful. 0:08:05.480 --> 0:08:09.160 Fine my gator flag. Every home that we've lived in 0:08:09.280 --> 0:08:12.680 we have something gator oriented in in front of our 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:14.920 home and let everybody know where gators now. We have 0:08:14.960 --> 0:08:18.440 a decal on the garage. I got a little gator 0:08:18.560 --> 0:08:21.160 holding a football on the front step. I remember living 0:08:21.200 --> 0:08:24.840 in Atlanta, I had a Gator flag. After every SEC game. 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:27.360 Usually my flag was in the yard because somebody came 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:31.000 and took it down, you know. But it's really huge, 0:08:31.120 --> 0:08:33.760 you know, and even from an outside of football perspective. 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:36.280 My wife is from Miami, and it just allows us 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:38.720 to get back on this side and be closer to family. 0:08:39.120 --> 0:08:40.840 You know, our parents are getting up there in age, 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:42.800 so it's more important to you know, spend more time 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.480 with them, and you know, being here in this location 0:08:45.520 --> 0:08:48.320 allows us to do. So. When you finished your playing career, 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:50.840 you went back and finished your degree and then you said, 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:54.079 I'm not gonna follow my dad into coaching, which is 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:56.640 what most former players do. You said, I want to 0:08:56.679 --> 0:09:00.440 work in personnel. Why did personnel have that kind of 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:02.720 intrigue for you? So what people don't know is my 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:06.320 dad's initial thing was he wanted to do personnel. Okay, 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:09.679 so Parcels called him, I think this was ninety four 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:14.080 ninety five and offered him a job. My dad was like, okay, cool, 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:16.439 but I want to do personnel. And Bill's like, if 0:09:16.480 --> 0:09:20.040 you know, Bill know you're coaching. And once he stamps that, 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:22.679 that's what it is. And so my dad always steered me, 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:25.800 you know, to personnel. So when I was in college, 0:09:25.920 --> 0:09:29.440 pro day circuit comes, I get a call, Hey, coach 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:31.840 A is coming. You need to meet him at the 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:33.920 office at six. You need to watch film with him. 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:35.720 You need to hold his clipboard, you need to clock 0:09:35.800 --> 0:09:37.880 his forties, you need to and you need to talk 0:09:37.880 --> 0:09:39.880 to him about your teammates. And so that was kind 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:42.839 of ingrained in me early. And so when I was done, 0:09:43.280 --> 0:09:45.880 I actually coached high schoolball one year in Miami in 0:09:45.920 --> 0:09:48.440 two thousand and seven to see if I had that 0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:51.320 in me. And I learned after two weeks that coaching 0:09:51.600 --> 0:09:54.000 wasn't for me, but it was a good experience to have. 0:09:54.160 --> 0:09:56.320 And then once I went back to finish my degree, 0:09:56.360 --> 0:09:58.760 I kind of just you know, went all charges ahead. 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:00.840 You went through some st as a player. You got 0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:03.079 hurt in high school. You get to Florida, a bunch 0:10:03.080 --> 0:10:05.680 of backs there, you have to wait your turn. You 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:08.680 don't get drafted, you fight your way into the NFL, 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:13.120 you're cut multiple times, the journey being I don't want 0:10:13.160 --> 0:10:15.959 to say hard, but I mean certainly there were obstacles. 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:18.680 How much of that do you carry into this job 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:21.439 and do you feel like helps you in the personnel 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:23.439 world and now as a general manager? Yeah, I think 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:26.240 it allows what these young men are going through. I 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:29.040 think it brings a human element to it because I've 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:31.960 been through it. One of my mentors back home build spots. 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:35.120 Would you know, his family owned a hotel and at 0:10:35.120 --> 0:10:36.800 the age of fourteen, he knew that that's what he 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:39.520 wanted to do, so his father made him work for 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:42.680 every job in the hotel until he eventually took over. 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:45.800 So that's how I see my journey, right, I've gone 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:48.960 through all these multiple steps and now I'm here at 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:51.040 the pinnacle of you know what it is we do 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:53.280 and so I've worked every job in the buildings. So 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:56.760 now that allows me to identify with every scout I've 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:58.960 been in the locker room. I've been cut multiple times, 0:10:59.200 --> 0:11:01.160 so now I can identify with those guys in the 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:03.560 locker room. So that's kind of how I see my journey. 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:08.000 Alignment in the organization. You said that's the most important 0:11:08.080 --> 0:11:13.000 lesson you've learned that successful organizations have alignment between personnel 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:15.559 and coaching. When you talked about that today at the 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:19.280 press conference, I totally believed you because you could you 0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:23.840 sense that having seen it successfully work, that it can 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:26.840 be carried over right. Yeah. Absolutely, And at the end 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:28.680 of the day, like I said, you know, we're we're 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:31.679 here to execute you know, Mike's vision and Mike and 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:34.280 you know whomever our knew offensive coordinator going to be 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:36.760 in our defensive coordinating specialty coordinator. They have a way 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:39.040 that they want to do things and it's our job, 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:42.160 as you know, a personnel staff, to go find those players. 0:11:43.280 --> 0:11:45.440 You know, Miss Amy and the crew from the interview. 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:47.360 I you know, I have this quote and they've heard 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:50.240 me say it. Hunting at the same time. Is it 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:52.839 the same as hunting together? And that's what I want 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:55.000 to do here. I want our guys to hunt together 0:11:55.200 --> 0:11:57.960 so we can go out and bring home you know, 0:11:58.040 --> 0:12:01.439 the meal so to speak, allow us to be successful. 0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:03.640 One way that you brought home the meal is in 0:12:03.720 --> 0:12:06.800 San Francisco, you identified a lot of free agents that 0:12:06.880 --> 0:12:10.199 have fit well into the forty nine ers world, whether 0:12:10.240 --> 0:12:13.360 they be big name or not. Why has that been 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:17.439 a strength and what do you feel about that that 0:12:17.920 --> 0:12:20.079 you hope you can do here the same way Again, 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:22.840 it goes back to our staffs being married, you know, 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:25.760 in the collaboration of the staff, knowing what is going 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:28.480 to take for us to be successful, knowing what our 0:12:28.520 --> 0:12:31.560 coaches want, but then at the same time knowing the 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:34.120 right people to bring into our culture. You know, one 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:36.000 thing I can say if you look at the Rasha 0:12:36.080 --> 0:12:39.040 that we built in San Francisco, we didn't have a 0:12:39.040 --> 0:12:41.160 lot of bad character guys. We didn't have a lot 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:45.400 of guys facing disciplinary actions because we were intentional about 0:12:45.440 --> 0:12:47.440 the type of person that we wanted to come in 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:50.760 and fit our culture all right. Last one, you have 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:54.319 been so close to winning a Super Bowl as a 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:58.360 player and as a personnel man in this league. I mean, 0:12:58.400 --> 0:13:03.000 you have been frightened clothes. How much of it is 0:13:03.000 --> 0:13:05.719 a motivation that you bring to Ascension Saint Thome of 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:09.360 Sports Sports Park and the Tennessee Titans today. Yeah, that 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:12.240 was one of the things I spoke with the group 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:15.640 interview group about is you know, it would be their 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:18.520 first Lombardy, in my first Lombardy. And after we lost 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:22.480 the Super Bowl in twenty nineteen, obviously devastated, and I'm 0:13:22.480 --> 0:13:24.280 talking to my wife about it, and my wife kind 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:26.240 of brought up the point, you know, maybe it's not 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:29.120 your time. You know, maybe your time is when you're 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:32.319 in charge somewhere. Maybe that's your time. And I truly, 0:13:32.520 --> 0:13:35.880 you know, believe, you know, by the grace and mercy 0:13:35.920 --> 0:13:39.360 of the Most High, that you know that the time 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:41.760 will come with me in charge, and it's specifically here 0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:45.440 with this organization, I hope. So we're looking forward to 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:48.040 the ride, whatever it is. Thank you so much. Thank you, 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:52.520 Brad Carthon. It's saying it proper. We're glad he's here, 0:13:52.640 --> 0:14:00.880 Thanks very much. All right, So let's pick up on 0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:04.000 the Florida thing for just a minute, and the fact 0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:07.200 that he is still very much a gay. Yes, when 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:10.880 Florida beat Tennessee in two thousand and six, twenty one 0:14:11.000 --> 0:14:15.480 to twenty, he went to Peyton Manning's room. He's still 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:18.640 with the colds. He went to Peyton Manning's room, knocked 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:20.960 on the door. Peyton Manning opened the door and he 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:24.440 started singing the Florida fight song. That's very funny. Peyton 0:14:24.480 --> 0:14:27.920 immediately closed the door and he stood there and continued 0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:31.600 to sing the Florida fight song until he was finished. That. 0:14:32.920 --> 0:14:35.280 I must say I respect that too. I also respect 0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:39.880 Peyton for slamming the door. I'm sure Peyton did not 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:42.720 find that funny. No, he would not find that funny. 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:47.760 But ran Carthon was cut eleven days later by the Colts. 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:49.640 Do you think it was I was just about to 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:52.040 say that's a little too close. I don't think that's 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:55.880 why he was. He was waived. But you know, I 0:14:55.920 --> 0:14:58.400 think the word that comes to my mind. You watched 0:14:58.440 --> 0:15:00.360 the interview, you heard the whole thing, you met him 0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:05.800 as well. Genuine. Genuine's a great word. Yes, very genuine. 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:09.160 I think he I mean, I think he's going to 0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:11.240 be a guy who he is who he is. You know, 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:15.880 he seems passionate about learning, not just how to do 0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:18.280 this job and do it really well because he's never 0:15:18.320 --> 0:15:21.400 been a general manager before, but he also seems very 0:15:21.440 --> 0:15:24.920 passionate about learning this organization. He wants to know the 0:15:25.000 --> 0:15:27.880 ins and outs of what's happening. Here at Ascension Saint 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:31.920 Thomas Sports Park. And it's not just he's coming in 0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:35.480 and doing things his way. He wants to find the 0:15:35.520 --> 0:15:39.000 best way and pull from a lot of different things, 0:15:39.000 --> 0:15:41.920 whether they're established or whether there's something he's experienced from 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:45.360 somewhere else. And I think that that thirst for kind 0:15:45.360 --> 0:15:50.440 of knowledge and understanding is something that comes through right away, 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:54.280 and I think is what's going to make him successful 0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:57.400 ultimately at this job. All right. Another thing that jumped 0:15:57.440 --> 0:16:00.600 out to me is I'm listening to him. I'm thinking 0:16:00.640 --> 0:16:05.040 about the GM search in twenty sixteen and the level 0:16:05.120 --> 0:16:08.960 of candidate that Amy Adams Strunk had. I mean, it 0:16:09.040 --> 0:16:11.160 was a it was a super duper list of people 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:15.320 who have done things and have been successful. And her 0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:19.920 general manager that she hired was successful. This time, it's 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:27.240 a very different job need in terms of the GM, right, 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:30.680 because the Titans aren't bad, you know the Titans. The 0:16:30.720 --> 0:16:33.840 Titans aren't a five win team over two years. The 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:37.280 Titans don't have the number one pick in the draft. 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:41.359 And it was an impressive list of people that she interviewed, 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:43.680 several of whom I think you're going to go on 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:45.800 to hear from. I mean, Monti Austin for it's already 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:49.280 gotten a GM job in the last week, so I 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:54.320 think she identified the right people again. But it feels 0:16:54.440 --> 0:17:00.800 like to me, Ran Carthon is the right I at 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:04.760 this moment for where this franchise was. Yeah, the same 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:08.920 way she had the temperature in twenty sixteen of who 0:17:08.960 --> 0:17:11.800 she needed to interview and what she needed, And it 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:15.760 feels like she got the temperature right of who she 0:17:15.840 --> 0:17:18.480 needed to talk to this time and what she needed. 0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:21.440 Because it's not exactly the same thing. It's absolutely not 0:17:21.480 --> 0:17:23.280 the same thing. And I think that's a great point 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:28.440 that you make. This job isn't about necessarily building the 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:32.399 foundation of the Tennessee Titans. There is a foundation for 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:36.719 the Tennessee Titans because they have been very successful in 0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:41.240 the last eight years. Now it's about elevating now, it's 0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:44.560 about getting over the hump, moving to the next echelon 0:17:44.760 --> 0:17:49.640 of what makes a team a great team, a perennial contender, 0:17:49.760 --> 0:17:54.040 a team that this entire nation is talking about consistently, 0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:58.080 and that's kind of the next level. So getting someone 0:17:58.160 --> 0:18:02.560 who has different experiences, a different perspective, a fresh set 0:18:02.560 --> 0:18:06.080 of eyes. There's so many different elements that are required 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:11.280 in that position right now. I think that that's reflected 0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:13.920 not only in the people that Amy brought in to 0:18:14.080 --> 0:18:17.480 really be looking at, but it's reflected in the way 0:18:17.560 --> 0:18:21.840 that Ran as approaching this position and the way that 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:25.280 he's approaching this job. We heard the word collaboration about 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:28.040 nine hundred and eighty four times, and I think that 0:18:28.040 --> 0:18:31.520 that's really truly what they are going to be doing. 0:18:31.680 --> 0:18:36.200 It's collaborating. It's working together to build on what is 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:39.920 already established and elevate it and make it that much better. 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:43.719 This is the OTP presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans. 0:18:43.760 --> 0:18:46.800 Plan on paying Less for the coverage you need with 0:18:46.920 --> 0:18:50.040 Farm Bureau Health Plans. Get a quote today at FBHP 0:18:50.359 --> 0:18:53.239 dot com. Amy Adam Strunck was kind enough to take 0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:55.640 a little time to swing by and visit with us 0:18:56.160 --> 0:19:00.119 as she's positively glowing about the hiring of Ran Carthon today. 0:19:00.119 --> 0:19:04.520 And you just heard it is Carthon. Carthon very fine, 0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:07.399 And it helps because that is the way somebody from 0:19:07.440 --> 0:19:12.400 the South would say it. Yeah, people don't say Carthon here. 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:15.120 I wouldn't think, you know, I don't think my mother did. 0:19:15.200 --> 0:19:18.879 She got me thrown off because she was like, she 0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:21.480 was like, it's Carthon, I think, and so that got 0:19:21.480 --> 0:19:24.119 in my head. So then that's why I ask you, 0:19:24.359 --> 0:19:27.639 Ran Carthon. But I can pronounce this, Amy Adams Strump, 0:19:27.720 --> 0:19:37.080 that's not hard with us now on the OTP Titans, 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:41.480 owner Amy Adams Strump today introduced the team's new general manager, 0:19:41.720 --> 0:19:46.520 Ran Carthon. As you compiled the list of general manager 0:19:46.600 --> 0:19:49.480 candidates to interview, what were some of the most important 0:19:49.600 --> 0:19:53.360 characteristics that you were looking for. Well, I think first, 0:19:53.640 --> 0:19:55.720 you know, you have to think we need to find 0:19:55.720 --> 0:20:01.439 the best evaluator. But you can be so technical, but 0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:05.920 there's so much more involved in being a great GM, 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:10.679 and so there was going to be a lot of things. Leadership, personality, 0:20:11.640 --> 0:20:15.960 they're just a lot goes into being that guy that 0:20:16.280 --> 0:20:22.879 that can collaborate with Frabel. You know, most gms picked 0:20:22.920 --> 0:20:26.000 their coach, and we have a you know, special situation. 0:20:26.200 --> 0:20:29.679 We have a great coach, and you know that was 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:31.760 going to be important to me. I had to find 0:20:32.040 --> 0:20:35.639 who I thought could really help this team get to 0:20:35.640 --> 0:20:39.280 the next step, but help this team by working very 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:42.119 closely with Mike. And you didn't go for a search firm. 0:20:42.160 --> 0:20:45.640 You did all this research yourself, you and the group together. 0:20:45.800 --> 0:20:49.000 Why was that so important? Well, I think you know, 0:20:49.040 --> 0:20:51.800 at the end of the day, we had over a 0:20:51.920 --> 0:20:56.320 hundred candidates that you know, six weeks ago we were 0:20:56.359 --> 0:20:59.680 looking at, and we kind of got the list down 0:20:59.760 --> 0:21:03.240 to who we thought would would be good choices and 0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:08.440 we didn't need the help with a search firm identifying candidates. 0:21:08.680 --> 0:21:12.000 What we did do is hired two consultants that helped 0:21:12.080 --> 0:21:14.320 us a lot. I mean they gave us some grave 0:21:14.520 --> 0:21:19.320 structure to go by during these interviews, Like we had 0:21:19.400 --> 0:21:25.119 set questions for all of these seven candidates that we wanted. 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:27.760 You know, they would get sub questions out of it 0:21:27.920 --> 0:21:31.320 or sub answers. They'd be, you know, talking, we'd kind 0:21:31.320 --> 0:21:33.400 of move along, but we always tried to go back, 0:21:33.440 --> 0:21:35.560 so at the end of the day, we were always 0:21:35.680 --> 0:21:41.199 comparing apples to apples. Ran Carthon interviewed last Friday. What 0:21:41.359 --> 0:21:45.919 struck you about him in that initial interview. Well, immediately, 0:21:46.960 --> 0:21:50.080 you know, you could just see he was a people 0:21:50.160 --> 0:21:54.480 person and he just he has a magnetic you saw 0:21:54.520 --> 0:21:59.120 it today personality. I mean, he's got an ease about him. 0:21:59.200 --> 0:22:03.800 You feel comfort. In fact, we were overlooking the practice 0:22:03.880 --> 0:22:07.680 feels before the interview, and I was like, oh, this 0:22:07.720 --> 0:22:10.760 whole wing is new and it was a remodel for 0:22:10.800 --> 0:22:13.320 the old part and he went, oh, just like HDTV, 0:22:13.560 --> 0:22:16.840 And I'm like, yes, like HD. Wait a minute, I'm 0:22:16.840 --> 0:22:19.159 supposed to make you feel relaxed. Now you're you know, 0:22:19.160 --> 0:22:21.960