NASHVILLE – Titans General Manager Mike Borgonzi held a press conference on Wednesday at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park.
Borgonzi, hired in January, tackled topics from the recent trades to quarterback Cam Ward's development to his thoughts on the draft class to working alongside President of Football Operations Chad Brinker to building the roster to the upcoming coaching search, and more.
He also had a message to the fans after the team's 1-8 start.
"The results are good enough right now, and we understand that," Borgonzi said. "And we understand the frustration with the fan base. And we know that we have to earn back the trust of this fan base.
"One of the things that was really appealing to me when I took this job was the passion that this fan base has. Coming in here as an opposing team, you could feel that passion, and that it meant something to the community, to families here. I always said, if I am going to go somewhere, I want to make it impactful. It is great to be in a place where people care about the team. I have been here close to a year now … and I've gotten to meet a lot of people in the community, and I feel their passion, and I feel their frustration right now.
"But we are doing everything possible right now to get this right, and to fix it. And, we will. I believe we will at the end of the day."
A look at some of the highlights for Borgonzi's presser, which lasted roughly 27 minutes:
-Borgonzi said he loves cornerback Jarvis Brownlee, who was traded to the Jets last month, while giving some background on why the move was made. "I know the first trade we made with Jarvis Bronwlee was controversial around here because he's a young player who was ascending. You are evaluating the fit, and without getting into a lot of details … we don't have the culture right now sometimes to help guys develop. We thought at the time some of the habits weren't conducive to building the culture right now. I wish Jarvis nothing but the best." Borgonzi was asked about the habits he's looking for in players, and he said "accountability, and attention to detail, the willingness to get better every day."
-When discussing the Roger McCreary trade to the Rams, Borgonzi said "I love Roger, teammates loved him. Roger is a good player. It's part of the strategy when you're looking at the roster and evaluating the market in terms of he's in an expiring contract, and what it's going to look like next year." Borgonzi said he felt like the team got good value in return, recouping the team's own fifth-round pick from the Rams in the trade, and it closed a big gap in the picks from the fourth round to the sixth round.
-Borgonzi praised outside linebacker Dre'Mont Jones, but said the team had to "think about the future of this program and where we're at, and we had a chance to acquire a pick (from the Ravens) that could be a high pick in the fifth, and could potentially turn into a fourth-round pick. So, let's hope the Ravens go to the playoffs and Dre'Mont has two more sacks, and we get a fourth-round pick out of it – that's what the conditions were there."
-Borgonzi said he has faith in quarterback Cam Ward, the team's first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. "He looks like a rookie quarterback playing on a team that had the No.1 pick last year," Borgonzi said. "He is developing, and he is developing with a lot of other rookies, too. … They are learning together, and they are only going to be better because of it. I have full confidence that Cam, because of his work ethic, because of his drive, that he will fix the things he needs to fix, just like every quarterback in this league. I have full confidence that he's going to get there."
-Borgonzi said he feels like the rookie class is a "special class," one the franchise can build upon. "They represent everything that we want in a Titan" with their work ethic, passion and drive to get better. He said they are all developing. "I think they are all contributing," Borgonzi said. "Cam is a starting quarterback in the league and has had some really good moments, really high-level throws. Once he puts everything together with some consistency, which I think he will. He has been impressive, his leadership has been impressive. … Kevin (Winston), coming off the ACL, basically in under a year – we got him back out, he had a little setback – but he is starting to play and come on, you see flashes of it, his speed, his athleticism. The three guys we took in the fourth with Elic (Ayomanor) and Chim (Dike) and Gunnar (Helm) have all contributed. Dike leads the league in all-purpose yardage right now, the punt return (for a TD) he had – you talk about a dependable player now, that's what he exemplifies. And Gunnar, you've seen in flashes, he is going to be a really good player for us in this offense. And then (guard) Jackson (Slater) is on the active right now in a reserve role, just hasn't had a chance. And (RB Kalel) Mullings was doing some good things on teams before he had the ankle injury. I'm really happy to see their progress so far."
-When asked about interim head coach Mike McCoy, Borgonzi said: "I think Mike is doing a great job holding everything together here, under the circumstances."
-Borgonzi praised defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons: "Jeff has been tremendous. … I communicate with Jeff a lot, and Jeff is a big part of why we are going to turn this thing around here. He is one of the better players in the league, and his leadership with these young guys has been tremendous. … Jeff is invaluable to us right now, with where we want to go." Borgonzi said Simmons "is a pillar for what you want" on a team.
-When asked about the dynamics between himself and Brinker, Borgonzi said "Chad is invaluable to me. Chad hired me, Amy hired me, to really construct the roster, that's what they hired me for. And they empowered me to do that. And what Chad does, he has knowledge in scouting, he has knowledge with the salary cap, strategy. Chad is really smart. And Chad supports me with all of the decisions that I make." Brinker said all of the team's decision-makers in football work together in making decisions, no matter their titles. "They empowered me to draft players, to sign players, to construct the roster," Borgonzi said.
-On the subject of the team's next head coach, Borgonzi said "it's imperative we make this decision: Who is the best leader of this organization moving forward. Me and Chad have had conversations and it's important that is not only a fit for the organization, we want a leader here, I don't care if it is defense, or offense. … We'll come together and make the best decision."
-Borgonzi said he's not sure of cornerback L'Jarius Sneed will play again this season. (He's currently on Injured Reserve).
-Borgonzi acknowledged the salary cap room the team will have heading into the offseason while discussing the philosophy in building the roster: "We are starting free agent meetings in early December. But we have been watching the free agents and building a board, similar to a draft board with free agents in the league and trying to figure out their market value, trying to figure out our needs at the end of the season. … We have a lot of cap space … but you have to stay disciplined to it, too. … In the future we want to draft and develop guys, but there will be opportunities that if we see a player that we deem is going to help us, and we are thin at the position, we are going to attack it. There is a balance to that. But you certainly want to be having your roster consist of more younger players that are drafted to really build the culture you want."
