Titanic collapse: How the Titans went from No. 1 seed in the loaded AFC to the No. 1 pick

The Tennessee Titans are beginning anew in 2025. The franchise brought in a new general manager with Mike Borgonzi, who selected a new quarterback in Cameron Ward with the No. 1 overall pick, and there are reasons to be optimistic that the worst team in football can show some improvement this season. 

While the Titans have never received the kind of attention other teams like the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers do, they weren’t always a rebuilding franchise. In fact, it wasn’t too long ago where they made an AFC Championship game and secured the No. 1 seed in the loaded AFC in the span of three seasons. The Titans were a legitimate threat to win the Super Bowl. What happened? 

The titanic collapse of the Titans was due to a number of factors. Questionable firings, followed by questionable hirings that made questionable signings that left this team without an identity. There were a number of horrific decisions made by ownership and the front office that deeply scarred a fan base and led to the ultimate low point. How did it all happen?

Let’s go back to 2021, and retrace the fall of the Titans. We’ll start with maybe the last time football fans in Nashville were actually happy.

The infamous Bengals game

It should be a sports trivia question. Which AFC team held the No. 1 seed in 2021? It wasn’t the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills or Baltimore Ravens, it was the Tennessee Titans. What’s incredible about this fact is that Mike Vrabel’s squad finished 12-5 even after losing star running back Derrick Henry to a foot injury suffered on Halloween, while star wide receiver A.J. Brown had what was statistically the worst season of his career. 

The Titans pulled off a series of impressive victories in 2021. A goal-line stand helped Tennessee upset Buffalo on “Monday Night Football,” then the Titans came right back around on a short week and handed Patrick Mahomes the worst loss of his career at the time, a 27-3 blowout which raised the eyebrows of the NFL world. The Titans also blew out the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams on their home field in prime time, 28-16, en route to a 12-5 record and the No. 1 seed in the AFC. 

After enjoying a well-earned first-round bye, the Titans were scheduled to host Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. The date was Jan. 22, 2022, and it had the potential to be a historical sports day in Nashville. The Titans hadn’t won a home playoff game since 2003, and Henry was set to make his return to the field after missing more than two months with the foot injury. The stadium was packed, the Titans were favored by 3.5 points and Nashville was ready for a Super Bowl run.

On the first play from scrimmage, Ryan Tannehill threw an interception to Jessie Bates. It was the first of three interceptions Tannehill would end up throwing, which directly led to the 19-16 loss Tennessee suffered. The Titans had found themselves on the losing end despite a heroic effort from the defense, which sacked Burrow nine times — tying a single-game NFL playoff record. 

Burrow didn’t score a single touchdown in this game, and the Titans still lost. It was the first of several unexpected heartbreaks to come in Music City.

‘Crying at the combine’

The Titans then turned their attention to the offseason. Vrabel won NFL Coach of the Year and received a contract extension, as did general manager Jon Robinson. Still, that didn’t help anyone forget what happened in the divisional round. 

While speaking with reporters at the NFL combine two months after the Bengals loss, Robinson became emotional when reflecting on how the Titans’ season ended.

Robinson’s tears were a reflection of Titans fans’ fears. 

Tennessee was set up to make a legitimate run. The Titans had home-field advantage against an inexperienced team that just registered its first winning season since 2015. This Titans squad had overcome adversity at every turn, but couldn’t capitalize when things were in its favor? Would the Titans ever get that kind of opportunity again? 

Titans don’t want to trade A.J. Brown

One item on the Titans’ offseason to-do list that year was extending Brown. Despite his “down season” in 2021, it was understood he was a star. Brown crossed 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first two NFL seasons, and caught a total of 24 touchdowns in his first 43 career games played.

Robinson made it known that his intention was to extend Brown, and keep him in Tennessee. 

“Right now, we are just trying to get through this free agency period, seeing where we’ve landed cap-wise,” Robinson said, via the Titans’ official website. “A.J. is an important part of what we do. He’s a great teammate, he works hard, he’s about what we’re about. A.J. is a Titan and we want to keep A.J. a Titan. And that’s part of our goal this offseason, or whenever that manifests itself, to come to an agreement to keep him around.”

Coach Vrabel was also asked about the possibility of trading Brown as he searches for a big contract extension. The three-time Super Bowl champion said it wasn’t going to happen. 

“Not as long as I’m the head coach,” Vrabel said on the “Rich Eisen Show” when asked if Brown could be traded. “I love A.J. professionally, personally. I’ve gotten to know him well as his coach and enjoy seeing him as much as I possibly can. Saw him here working out here earlier, said hi. As long as I’m the coach here, I would want to have A.J. Brown on my football team.”

A.J. Brown is traded

During the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Titans traded their No. 1 wide receiver to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for the No. 18 and No. 101 overall picks. That night, Brown took to social media to say goodbye to Tennessee, posting a tweet that ended up being deleted:

“Tennessee I love you and you will forever be in my heart and I can say this now… THIS WAS NOT MY FAULT. But I wish you all the best. Love”

After being acquired, Brown signed a four-year, $100 million deal with the Eagles that included $57 million guaranteed. His new AAV of $25 million made Brown the No. 4 highest-paid receiver in the NFL at the time.

With the No. 18 overall pick the Titans received in exchange for Brown, they drafted wide receiver Treylon Burks out of Arkansas. The former Razorback caught 66 passes for 1,104 yards and 11 touchdowns in his final collegiate season, and was actually compared to Brown as a prospect. 

Since Burks was selected with the pick the Titans received while giving Brown away, he was expected to immediately fill his shoes.

A messy aftermath

The Titans made it clear they didn’t want to trade Brown, yet traded him on draft night. So what happened? Conflicting reports surfaced. 

Brown told ESPN he wanted to stay in Tennessee, but the Titans couldn’t come up with an offer that was worth $20 million per year. Seems pretty unbelievable, right? Other reports indicated that Brown not only requested a trade, but that his camp was making some pretty big financial requests behind the scenes as well.

According to Dianna Russini, Brown requested a trade, and asked the Titans for guaranteed money close to $80 million. This figure was also reported by ESPN’s Turron Davenport, and John Glennon. Brown’s four-year deal with Philly included $57 million guaranteed.

While Brown claimed the Titans’ offer was $16 million per year that could reach $20 million per year with incentives, Russini reported that the Titans’ offer was more than that, but her source wouldn’t share the actual numbers. Brown said he would have re-signed with the Titans for $22 million per year, but Glennon reports Brown was asking for even more than the $25 million average he received from the Eagles.

It sounds like a disastrous game of “telephone.” Ultimately, the fault lies with the franchise.

Early issues for Treylon Burks 

With all eyes now on Burks, it was notable that he was reportedly unable to finish his first rookie minicamp practice due to what appeared to be conditioning issues. He was on and off the practice field at OTAs, and what made the situation more weird than it had to be was that he and the Titans were coy about what was going on.

As it turns out, the kid just had asthma. It didn’t have to be some incredible secret for the team to keep under wraps. Thankfully, Titans wide receivers coach Rob Moore finally spelled it out for everyone. 

“Some of those things that happened were kind of out of his control,” Moore said, via ESPN. “The kid’s got asthma. Those things happen. But he understands what the expectations are, but I think at the end of the day, it’s really him getting himself immersed in the culture of how we do things here, how we play here, which is different from every player that comes in here from college because we ask these guys to do things that a lot of teams don’t ask them to do.

“I’m excited about Treylon and what he’s going to be able to bring to this football team. He just has to get himself healthy and be able to show everybody out here on the field what he’s capable of.”

Burks caught 10 passes for 129 yards in the first four games of the season, and then was placed on short-term injured reserve with a turf toe injury. He would spend much more time on injured reserve in the future. 

Final moment of positivity takes place in Green Bay

Nov. 17, 2022 may be the last time the Titans fan base felt good about the direction of the team at large. In Week 11, Tannehill took the Titans up to Green Bay, and came away with a 27-17 victory over the Packers on “Thursday Night Football.” 

Tannehill completed 22 of 27 passes for 333 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Per NFL Next Gen stats, Tannehill completed +20.0% of his passes over expected — the highest CPOE in a game over the past three seasons at the time (minimum 25 attempts). Tannehill also earned a 97 NGS passing score for his performance, the highest given to any quarterback that season at the time. 

Burks also had the best game of his career, catching seven passes for 111 yards.

The Titans were now sitting at 7-3 and in position to win the division for the third straight year. However, that excitement would last for just a few hours, as offensive coordinator Todd Downing was arrested for DUI the next morning. Things wouldn’t get better from there. 

A.J. Brown smacks Titans in revenge game

The Titans lost their playoff rematch with the Bengals the following week, and then were scheduled to fly to Philly for their first matchup against Brown and the Eagles.

There was a scary moment in the first quarter where Burks made an incredible 25-yard touchdown catch while getting knocked out on the play. He somehow held on to the ball for the score, and then was ruled out for the remainder of the game. Then, it was time for the A.J. Brown show.

On the very next possession, Brown trucked Titans cornerback Kristian Fulton for his first touchdown of the day. 

In the third quarter, Brown scored again. 

In all, Brown caught eight passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-10 win against his former team. He spanked them. Literally. 

“I wanted to retire a Titan. I tried to do everything in my power to remain a Titan,” Brown said after the win. “It’s a business, once again. In that situation I had to grow up. I just had to learn it was a business. I wanted to make them regret that decision. 

“It’s been personal since the trade. That’s where I wanted to be. … Things didn’t work out. It was kind of like ‘here you go, we don’t want you anymore.’ You just kind of get pushed to the side. In that situation, I had to grow up.”

Titans fire GM Jon Robinson

The loss to the Eagles was so embarrassing that controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk fired her general manager two days after the game. The Titans were sitting atop the AFC South at 7-5 when the decision was made, and while it was surprising, it was one where you could understand the reasoning. 

“Honestly, I had made the decision. It was time to move forward,” Strunk told the Associated Press. “There was no reason to go six, seven, eight weeks, however long remained in the season. 

“It was not fair to Jon, it was not fair to the team. It just seemed (like) the right time. It gives us plenty of time to find future candidates we’re going to interview. To watch the internal candidates. 

“I’m just not that person that’s going to sit on a decision like that.”

The Titans never posted a losing season under Robinson, and he made some phenomenal moves during his time in charge. He drafted Tennessee’s two stars on offense: Henry and Brown. On defense, he selected Kevin Byard out of MTSU in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, who would go on to be a two-time All-Pro and tied for the NFL lead in interceptions in 2017. The selection of Jeffery Simmons at No. 19 overall in 2019 was a great pick, and don’t forget that Robinson acquired Tannehill from the Miami Dolphins in a Day 3 pick swap in 2019. Tannehill would go on to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year that same season, and help the Titans take the next step as a franchise. 

Robinson also made some horrific moves. His final three first-round picks in Isaiah Wilson, Caleb Farley and Burks were massive busts. In fact, Wilson and Farley played a combined 13 games for the Titans. Then there was the “Brown blunder,” where he sent his star wide receiver away instead of paying him, which ultimately was the final straw for this executive.

Titans close season with seven straight losses

Firing Robinson didn’t work, as the Titans then lost their final five games after parting ways with their GM to finish 7-10. Yes, Tennessee went from atop the division at 7-3, to 7-10 and out of the playoffs. It marked the Titans’ first losing season since 2015.

You can’t say it was a forgettable end to the season. Tannehill aggravated an ankle injury in Week 15 that knocked him out for the rest of the year. Rookie Malik Willis came in to make his third start of the year vs. the Houston Texans, but struggled in a loss. With the season in the balance, the Titans signed Joshua Dobbs to start the final two games of the regular season. The AFC South actually came down to a Week 18 showdown vs. the rival Jacksonville Jaguars, in which Tennessee fell, 20-16.

Titans hire Ran Carthon as new GM

To replace Robinson, the Titans hired former San Francisco 49ers director of player personnel Ran Carthon to take over as general manager. Carthon was a former running back that played his college ball at the University of Florida, and had a background in scouting as well. 

There were questions regarding if Carthon or Vrabel would have control over the roster, but they were touted by Tennessee as a “team.” Their first draft class included offensive tackle-turned-guard Peter Skoronski, quarterback Will Levis, running back Tyjae Spears, tight end Josh Whyle, offensive tackle Jaelyn Duncan and wide receiver Colton Dowell. It’s possible just two or three of these players will be on the Titans’ active roster in 2025. 

Titans finish 2023 with losing record

The 2023 season was another tough one for Tennessee. Tannehill lost his job as the unquestioned starter after suffering yet another ankle injury in the Week 6 London matchup vs. the Ravens, but Levis excited the football world by throwing four touchdowns in his NFL debut vs. the Atlanta Falcons. 

The Titans registered a dramatic upset/comeback over the Dolphins in Week 14, and kept the Jaguars out of the playoffs with a 28-20 upset victory in the regular-season finale. Still, the Titans finished with a 6-11 record, and a bottom five offense that was held back by the worst offensive line in the NFL. That directly led to what happened next.

Titans fire Mike Vrabel 

After six seasons, the Titans fired Vrabel. He went 54-45 as lead man, and compiled winning records in each of his first four seasons before posting back-to-back losing campaigns in 2022-23. In his second season as coach, Tennessee made the AFC Championship game thanks to a quarterback change and the outstanding play of Henry. As we already discussed, Vrabel was named Coach of the Year in 2021 after his injury-riddled Titans secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC. From 2020-21 the Titans went 23-10. In Vrabel’s final two seasons, Tennessee went 13-21.

Amy Adams Strunk’s message to fans

The decision to fire Vrabel was a controversial one, and it led Strunk to deliver a message to the public. She spoke about Titans fans deserving a championship, and how she’s prepared to make the tough decisions to get this franchise where it needs to go. 

She pointed to two reasons why “the sky is the limit” for the Titans moving forward: Carthon and Levis. This will age poorly.

Titans hire Brian Callahan

To replace Vrabel, the Titans bring in an offensive mind with Brian Callahan. The son of offensive line guru Bill Callahan spent five seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Bengals, and coached several big-name quarterbacks at different stages of their careers, such as Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford, Derek Carr and Burrow. 

Callahan wasn’t the architect of the Bengals’ high-powered offense (that was Zac Taylor), but the decision to hire an offensive-minded coach to develop Levis was applauded by fans.

“For me, he’s a player-first coach,” Bengals wideout Tee Higgins told CBS Sports aboy Callahan two weeks before he took the Titans job. “He’s all about making his players happy. He’s a family man. He treats us like one of his own. Just a great guy and an outstanding coach at the end of the day.”

Derrick Henry signs with the Ravens

Two months after the hiring of Callahan, one of the greatest players in Titans history finally jumped ship. The NFL’s two-time rushing yards leader Derrick Henry decided to join forces with Lamar Jackson, and signed a two-year deal with the Ravens. 

Titans go on shopping spree

With Vrabel out of the way, this was Carthon’s roster to build. According to Roster Management System, the Titans spent $228.2 million during that offseason, per ESPN. Tennessee handed out a $92 million deal to wide receiver Calvin Ridley, gave $50 million to center Lloyd Cushenberry then traded for Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed and gave him a $76.4 million deal. The Titans likely overpaid for some players, such as cornerback Chidobe Awuzie (three years, $36 million) and linebacker Kenneth Murray (two years, $18 million), but also added some big names like former Cowboys running back Tony Pollard and Pro Bowl safeties Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs. 

On paper, the Titans put together a pretty exciting roster. The problem is that football games aren’t played on paper. 

The summer of unwarranted positivity

It’s incredible to revisit some of the headlines that came out of Nashville last offseason:

There were more than just the headlines. Levis entered the season as the unquestioned starter, which was a mistake in hindsight. Coach Callahan talked about shaping his offense around the quarterback and playmakers to highlight their strengths. That clearly did not happen. Callahan also chose to ignore the blatant issue at right tackle, something noted by CBS Sports at training camp. The first-year coach had to learn a lesson the rest of the fan base already understood: Nicholas Petit-Frere ain’t it. Tennessee would again go on to have one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL.

A nightmare start to the season

Week 1 at the Chicago Bears

The Titans actually jumped out to a 17-0 lead over Caleb Williams and Co. in the season opener, but then imploded. The Bears embarked on a 24-0 run highlighted by a blocked punt touchdown and an embarrassing pick six from Levis, which was the game-winning score. 

The Bears became the third team in NFL history to pull off a 17-point comeback win while scoring zero offensive touchdowns. Chicago recorded just 148 yards of total offense and went 2 of 13 on third downs. 

Week 2 vs. the New York Jets

For the second week in a row, the Titans blew a lead in the second half. The highlight (lowlight) of this game was Levis trying to do too much, and turning the ball over in the red zone. 

Week 3 vs. the Green Bay Packers

Remember, on roster cutdown day the Titans traded third-string quarterback Malik Willis to the Packers for a seventh-round pick. It appeared he was on the chopping block anyway, so this wasn’t a massive surprise. However, after Jordan Love was injured in the season opener, it was Willis who led the Packers into Nissan Stadium.

In a 30-14 win over his former team, Willis completed 13 of 19 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown, and led all players with 73 rushing yards and a touchdown as well. Without a doubt, it was the best Willis had ever looked in his NFL career, and he exited Week 3 leading the NFL in yards per attempt (9.8) AND yards per rush (9.5). Meanwhile, Levis was leading the NFL with eight turnovers. 

Titans finish 3-14, Ran Carthon is fired

We don’t have to recap every game from the Titans’ 2024 campaign. Just know they finished 3-14 thanks to bad quarterback play, bad offensive line play and an inconsistent special teams unit that hurt them at times, too. After throwing money around in free agency and hyping themselves up, the Titans were an unmitigated disaster. 

With the Titans being the worst team in football, it was natural to wonder if there would be a fall guy, or would Strunk just clean house? Coach Callahan, Carthon and president of football operations Chad Brinker. Could one go, or all of them? Instead, it was Carthon who was dropped, one year into his new role of “executive vice president and general manager.” What’s interesting is that Brinker, who was the former assistant general manager and president of football operations, and had a role in the 2024 embarrassment, was given what appeared to be a promotion in having “final authority on all football matters, including the roster.” 

It’s disappointing, as this franchise went from being the No. 1 seed in the AFC led by the Coach of the Year, to picking No. 1 overall in the draft under uncertain yet ever-changing leadership in the blink of an eye. 

Derrick Henry impresses with Ravens, while A.J. Brown wins Super Bowl

As the Titans wrapped up the worst season in franchise history, a couple of former players were thriving with their new teams. Henry rushed for 1,921 yards and tied the league lead in rushing touchdowns with 16, while Brown crossed 1,000 yards receiving for the third consecutive season and won Super Bowl LIX with the Eagles.

Titans draft Cameron Ward, will run it back with Brian Callahan

Despite how disastrous yet forgettable the past few seasons have been for the Titans, there is reason for optimism. Anytime you draft a quarterback at No. 1 overall, there’s hope he can put together a rookie season like C.J. Stroud and Jayden Daniels did to get your franchise back on the right track. Ward isn’t viewed as the top No. 1 prospect of all time, but he does appear to be wired the right way as a former zero-star recruit that played for three different schools, and was a star at each stop. He doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low, and has clear talent that should translate at the next level. Still, there are other pressing questions.

What do the Titans want to be? What is the identity of this team? Those questions were not answered last year. The defense was supposed to be aggressive, but teams like the Carolina Panthers and Jaguars recorded more sacks. The offense was supposed to be tailored to its players, but it was indeterminate. Sure, it didn’t help that the quarterback was a turnover magnet, but that just leads to more questions. Why did Levis take a step backwards under the care of an offensive-minded head coach brought in specifically to help him? What does that say for Ward’s chances in Year 1 under this regime? 

Maybe there’s just as much reason for pessimism entering 2025, but this fan base wants to see two things in the coming months: Ward prove that he has the makings of a franchise quarterback, and Callahan take clear steps forward as a leader, a play-caller and a developer of talent.