The OTP | GM Mike Borgonzi on the Titans Growth, Roster Building & What’s Ahead

The OTP | GM Mike Borgonzi on the Titans Growth, Roster Building & What’s Ahead

[Music] This is the OTP. I’m Taylor Zarszer, Mike Boranzi. Mike, thanks for doing this. Yeah, it’s great to be here, Taylor. Uh, what has the transition been like for you personally going from being an assistant general manager in Kansas City to being the general manager of the Tennessee Titans in Nashville? Yeah, it’s been great. I mean, first of all, just, you know, being here in Nashville with my family. um you know what a great place to live. Um you know being in Kansas City all those years and raising the kids there um you know just being in this community and you know the fan base here how passionate they are uh which is similar to Kansas City and then you know just a job it’s it’s the next challenge in your career. Um, so it’s one that, you know, I worked for for a long time in Kansas City and uh and um it’s been a it’s been a great, you know, time here and challenge of course, but there’s great people here in the building and and that’s what makes going to work every day enjoyable. I I can hear the accent from where you’re originally from in the wonderful Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Was this the dream? Was the dream to be in in the National Football League doing something like this or when did that dream, I guess, when was that created? You know, I don’t know if it was ever a dream, you know, I always loved just being in in football, of course, playing when I was younger in high school and college and then I just knew I wanted to be around football. I had a passion for it. And so, you know, you get into coaching. I I did that at the college level. Um, you know, worked at BC in recruiting and then had an opportunity to work in in scouting and in personnel in Kansas City for 16 years. So I I think as you go up the ranks um and you learn and you say, “Hey, maybe one day I could actually, you know, lead a franchise and and be a GM.” Um so I would say probably, you know, the last few years in Kansas City, you know, I’d say, you know, that’s that’s the next step and that’s the next challenge for me. Who are your biggest influences? Oh, wow. You know, I’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of uh great coaches and mentors in my life. uh really goes back to in in high school with uh the legendary coach John Debazo at Ever High School uh who’s who’s a legend there. U but but he taught me, you know, the the commitment to to you know to to work hard and to build a team. Um and we weren’t very good in high school until we got to about my senior year and we ended up winning the state championship. just the, you know, building a team in the right type of people, the commitment to the process there and then just, you know, going to college, uh, being around coach Estis, um, you know, my college coach there was was a great influence on me, uh, just in terms of just fighting through adversity. Uh, and then when I got to the National Football League, you know, I had a very unique experience. I had three different GMs there. Um, so there was so much to learn in terms of different leadership philosophies, different team building philosophies. Uh I started out there with Scott Pley who hired me. Uh you know John Dorsey um and then you know I worked alongside Brett V for years and he became the GM. So we had a special friendship and of course being around Andy Reid who was uh you know future Hall of Fame coach. Uh so I had a front row seat to leadership and team building uh throughout my years in Kansas City too. And I’m hearing that you have gone from situations that weren’t ideal when you started and created championship level teams at at every level. So let me ask you this, Mike. What would be your evaluation of this season so far? Yeah, of course the the wins and losses uh the the you know the record is not where we want it to be right now, but um you know the evaluation for me is I I do see growth. I do see growth within the organization. I do see growth within the players, especially our young rookies. um you know you know having the ability to play early on and going through some adversity and learning that’s that’s the only way you get better. Um so so to answer your question I’ve seen a ton of growth up to this point. You know I know the the results haven’t been there yet. Um but you know I feel good if we keep on working and adding the type of players to this roster. Uh the results will eventually come. From my perch calling the games each week, I would say the brightest spot is what you just referenced, the the rookie class. Would you agree with that? I mean, as you look at this team and you say the you look at the rookie class, how would you assess their performance? Yeah, you know, in terms of building a foundation, I I think this class is special. I I do I do from day one, just their, you know, the first people in the building, last people out, their work ethic, they set the tone every day. Um, so in terms of them now playing now and having experience, I think these are the building blocks you need uh in order to to build a winning team. And for me, you know, I think we can look back someday and say, you know, this is the group that that really set the the foundation. And Cam Ward obviously is a part of that. He’s taken every single snap this season. How much do you think that helps his development throughout the rest of his career? I I think it’s invaluable. um cuz I think he’s going through it now w with a lot of the rookies that he’s throwing the ball to. He’s got, you know, two receivers and a tight end. They’re both rookies, but uh but he’s learning just like every rookie here. Um you know, it’s there’s different things that come at the National Football League in terms of, you know, playing the quarterback position. Um just in terms of situational football, u just the different coverages you you you experience here in the National Football League that you don’t see at the college level. Um so, you know, he’s gotten better every week. I I really think he has uh and and and he’s wired right and you know that’s the biggest thing we we took when we did the evaluation process with him is he’s going to figure it out uh because he wants to be great and uh and he’s going to get there. Mike, the great thing about the National Football League and as you said at the beginning of of this Titans fans is their passion and just about all of them want to play armchair quarterback and they want to decide we should do this, we should do that. Let me just simply ask you this. What is your feeling on roster construction? What is your strategy for roster construction? Yeah, you know, I always say, you know, it’s not about uh, you know, it’s about building the the right 53 and not just collecting talent. Um, so for me, it’s laying that foundation. Of course, you need talent in this league to win, but it’s a mixture of of talent and the right character, too, as well. Um, so we’re starting to to to build that here now here in Tennessee. Um, and you’re going to see the results here at some point. I I promise you there is growth happening. Um, it’s just not happening on the field yet, but you know, you see it every day at practice. Uh, you see little things during the games uh that that’s going to carry over and eventually the the results are going to be there. Um, but in terms of just building, it’s it’s draft, develop, and retain and retain our best. Um, and and and that’s really our philosophy here. um is to, you know, we we got to build up the trenches first, offensive line, defensive line. Uh we did some of that here in the offseason with the O line and just to continue to infuse youth on this talent, uh is the big thing. Hey football fans, satisfy your halftime hunger with Snickers, and you could win sweet prizes this NFL season. Visit snickers.com/halime to enter and view the official rules. Pick up Snickers at a Kroger near you. When you bring Helman’s creamy buffalo chicken dip to the watch party, you can cheer too loud or block the TV or be a couch coach and no one will eject you from the game. That’s a hail mayo. Helman’s the official mayo of the Tennessee Titans. 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Give us a sense of who those people are and how confident you are in the people you’re working with. Yeah, I mean it’s it’s you have to surround yourself with with with good people and and I have great people that surround me here. Um and through you know these trade discussions um you know it’s invaluable to have you know that Chad Brinker here um who has you know a background in scouting uh who has a background in in the cap and the value of trades. Um Dave Ziggler who’s also gone through this as a former GM uh Reggie McKenzie uh Dan Sagy. Um, so you know, throughout all these discussions, it’s not always it’s never one person making these decisions. Um, and you know, I have a phenomenal group um that that helps us really come to the decision and and you need those type of people around and and I’m very fortunate to have them here. And you’ve told me since the beginning, since I I first met you, that there is a strong culture here, which is really important as you build this. Absolutely. You have to have a strong culture. It starts with the people, right? and the right type of people that they’re committed to the process. Uh they’re accountable and they’re all about the team and and that’s you it sounds simple but when you have that combination and you have the those type of people within the organization usually good results happen. And as always we’re brought to you by Christy Cookies. Christy Cookie can create custom holiday tins for any size business. Visit christycookies.com and click on corporate gifts for more information. To learn more and explore personal or corporate gifting options, visit christycookies.com. Little Caesars is the official pizza partner of your Tennessee Titans. Download the Little Caesars app and get your favorites delivered today. Delivery fees do apply. Home is at the forefront of all we do. It’s why we’re so committed to caring for the places and spaces in which we work and live. 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Um, so, so for us, you know, I always said, you know, currency is is the biggest, uh, you know, draft picks is your biggest form of currency in this league, right? So, uh, for us right now, we’re trying to accumulate some draft picks to to bring in some some younger talent here. What is your message, Mike? Um, during this by week to the coaches and to the players, you know, just to just to for the players especially, just to get off their feet and rest a little bit and heal. Uh, it’s been a long um, you know, stretch here till November. Uh and for the coaches as well, just to get away, spend time with your family. Um and it’s also a good point, uh you know, to to really go back and self scout as well. You know, what are the few things we can do better here heading into the the stretch here down the end that that that uh can get us better? Yeah. Reset, rest mentally as much as physically. Absolutely. Yeah, that makes sense. You and I are new to the organization. This is our It’s my first year. It’s your first year, but certainly both of us appreciate the fact that the last few years have been tough for the Titans organization. What is your message to the fans right now, Mike? You know, really, we have to earn their trust back right now. I I think the results obviously haven’t been there on the field during game day. Uh but the message to them right now is that, you know, I think we have the right people, uh, you know, in the front office right now working every day to try to get this right. Um, and, you know, I I do see growth behind the scenes. I do think we have a process here that we’re we’re going to be disciplined to. Um, and eventually, uh, you you’re going to see the results on the field. I’m I’m very confident in that. And I know a lot of what Titans fans are thinking about is what you’re referring to, 2026, 2027, 2028, and beyond. How important are the last eight games of the 2025 season to you? It’s very important. It’s it’s continuing the growth that we’ve already had. uh continuing to get better as as you know as we head into next season. Um and and a lot of these guys are going to be together here for another season. So uh it’s it’s just continuing to to get better and it’s an important time here uh for us to to you know show the growth and eventually show the results on the field as well. Mike, you gave some great examples of high school days and and college days. Have you uh experienced this sort of situation before in the National Football League? And if so, if there are some parallels that come to mind, I I can think of one season in Kansas City that that comes to my mind at least. How much do you lean on those experiences to know I’ve been there before. I know how to handle this. I I think you always lean on those experiences and I I I did have that uh you know, we had one season where we did have the number one pick in the drafts 2013. And um you know, the biggest thing I learned from that is you know, you have to bring in the right type of people into organization. Uh you have to build a culture. you have to have a process and you have to stay disciplined to it and that’s what we did to really get out of the um you know hole that we were in Kansas City at the time. So, and that’s the same approach that we’re going to have here in Tennessee. It’s fun to watch you and your personnel department and everyone that is associated with the Titans work and build this thing. Uh it’s nice that you uh give me a seat next to you every once in a while to get a little perch into it and I wish you continued success. I know they’re great days ahead for the Tennessee Titans. Thread Taylor. Tighten up. Tighten up. [Music]

Titans General Manager Mike Borgonzi sits down with Taylor Zarzour for a deep dive into the Titans’ vision, the growth of the 2025 rookie class, roster construction strategy

00:00 – 00:24 — Show Open & GM Mike Borgonzi Welcome
00:24 – 01:27 — Career Journey: From Kansas City to Tennessee
01:27 – 02:32 — Early Football Roots & Leadership Lessons
02:32 – 03:13 — Building Teams Through Adversity
03:13 – 03:53 — Evaluating the 2025 Season So Far
03:53 – 04:32 — Signs of Growth Despite the Record
04:32 – 05:06 — Rookie Class Impact & Foundation Building
05:06 – 06:12 — Cam Ward’s Development as a Rookie QB
06:12 – 06:31 — Learning Through Real NFL Game Reps
06:31 – 07:03 — Roster Construction Philosophy
07:03 – 07:51 — Draft, Develop & Retain
07:51 – 08:22 — Building From the Trenches
08:22 – 09:02 — Trade Strategy & The Value of Draft Capital
09:02 – 09:48 — Leadership Group
09:48 – 10:31 — Titans Culture
10:31 – 11:03 — Fan Message
11:03 – 12:00 — Importance of the 2025 Season’s Back Half
12:00 – 13:08 — Lessons from Down Seasons in Kansas City
13:08 – 14:24 — Parallels to KC’s Turnaround & Applying It in Nashville
14:26 – 14:44 – Closing Thoughts

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