Mike Borgonzi appears to be an island of hope and reason in the Tennessee Titans’ sea of dysfunction.
The team’s general manager gave his first real solo news conference recently and, quite frankly, delivered a home run for an organization that desperately needs to provide answers for past mistakes and show a plan to make sure the future is better than the dismal present.
Borgonzi acknowledged there is a bridge of trust with Titans fans that must be repaired, even as the team has continued to sink further in the standings with a 1-8 record this season and a 10-40 mark since their downfall began in the middle of the 2022 season.
As he spoke of the controversial trade of cornerback Jarvis Brownlee, he pointed to the culture that would need to be in place to allow a player like Brownlee to fully succeed and bluntly said the Titans do not possess that at the current time.
When he spoke of veteran defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, he spoke of the type of player the Titans want to build around, thus why he rejected dealing the stalwart for a haul of draft picks at the trade deadline.
Those are questions that needed answers, but the experience and approach Borgonzi brings to the table give hope – for the first time in a long time – that perhaps there is a vision in place to finally pull the franchise out of the doldrums.
One reason to put some blind faith in Borgonzi is that he comes from the Kansas City Chiefs, an organization that has figured out how to build a winning foundation and keep it intact. It helps, of course, that Patrick Mahomes plays quarterback for them.
Two, Borgonzi was there as part of the scouting staff and front office in the pre-Mahomes era. He was there in 2012 when a 2-14 Chiefs team bottomed out and had to find a way back to competitiveness. They did so the very next year by drafting well, signing quality free agents and trading for a more-than-serviceable quarterback in Alex Smith.
Smith gave the Chiefs five good years. He was their version of Ryan Tannehill, steadying the ship and putting the team in the postseason multiple times.
He also was there for Mahomes to learn from as he was passing the baton to the future star QB. Mahomes was handed a playoff roster to guide in 2018, and the rest of that history that is still being written as the Chiefs’ success continues.
So, Borgonzi knows how to help raise a franchise’s fortunes from the dead. He was part of it with the Chiefs, not only seeing the bad days, but how it was salvaged and finally improved upon with the drafting of cornerstones like Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
Now, the Tennessee situation is different in a couple of ways, and Borgonzi will have to adapt to that in a big way in order to turn the Titans around.
Borgonzi doesn’t have an Alex Smith in Tennessee. Cam Ward, who is his quarterback hopeful, was thrown into the fire immediately as a rookie. Surrounded by a mostly poor roster, the results have not been pretty.
While it is probably an impossible ask for Ward to morph into a Mahomes-like star, Borgonzi professes faith that Ward will improve with experience and by putting the right coaches and players around him.
“I have full confidence that Cam, because of his work ethic, because of his drive, that he will fix things he needs to fix, just like every quarterback in this league though. And I have full confidence that he’s going to get there,” Borgonzi says.
As for how far away the Titans are from respectability – light years might be an understatement – Borgonzi said that journey is already beginning with a few building blocks in hand.
“I think Cam is one. You know, I think some of these rookies can be. I think Jeff is one, and I’m not going to go through every player on the roster, but you would try to identify maybe like three, four, five guys,” Borgonzi says. “And you saw that in the past with Kansas City. It’s like the same four guys that have been there for that whole run there, right?
“And so, yeah, I do think there’s some cornerstone players here that can be part of this. Some of them are younger now and they have to develop, and we need to continue to add to that.”
In essence, his future and the Titans’ future hinges upon it.
“The results aren’t good enough right now, and we understand that. And we understand the frustration with the fan base, and we know that we have to earn back the trust of this fan base,” Borgonzi says.
“I’ve been here close to a year now. I have young kids, they’re in school, and I got to meet a lot of people in the community,” he continues. “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. With all the negativity that comes along with losing, it’s hard to see any positive signs. But there are positive signs.”
The task is to build upon it and do so as quickly as possible, even if it is a long-term endeavor.
Terry McCormick also covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com