 This is the OTP presented by Farm Bureau Health Plan, celebrating 76 years of providing Tennesseans with high quality health coverage at an affordable price. Visit FBHP.com to learn about our history in Tennessee. With Amy Wells, I'm Mike Keith and this obviously is the general manager, Rand Carthon. Thank you for joining us on the OTP in what is such a busy week. To say the least. All right, can we go back a couple of days and hit the high points on DeAndre Hopkins? I mean, just to close that out and get that done and have him become a Titan officially. You know, it was one of those things where, you know, Robbie Boren and I, after we agreed to terms and Robbie's like, hey, can we put it, can we put it out? And I'm like, absolutely not. Let's wait until ink is on paper. And, you know, he came in today and I know he's fired up and he's ready to roll. All right. So he was cut on May the 26th by the Arizona Cardinals. There had been a lot of thought that he would be traded. One would guess that the Cardinals looked at all the options for trades, couldn't find what they wanted to do. And so they ended up waving him. At what point did the Titan staff begin working on the possibility that you would pursue DeAndre Hopkins? Well, our guys, Vin Moreno and Brian Gardner and Kevin Turks and Brandon Taylor and Rob Ritter, they do a really good job of having a list, a running list, what we call cap casualties. So we knew, I always knew it was a possibility that he could become available. So even prior to him getting cut, the research was done, the tape was watched and the conversation was had. So the moment he was released, it was pretty funny. I saw it first, I texted Chad and A-Rob and right as I'm hitting send on their texts, Vraves is texting me and I was like, hey, we've already reached out to his team and the communication started there. When that's going on, how do you maintain a level of calm? It's really easy to get excited about a big name, who's available, you wanna go after him full bore. There's gotta be a level of chill that you have to have, right? Yeah, you have to, because there's a chance you might not get him. And we always knew that there was a possibility, a player of his magnitude, he has his choices. And we were just fortunate that we had Vraves and we had Tim Kelly, who had prior relationships with him from coaching him. And then the cool thing was, and the city doesn't even realize, the city of Nashville doesn't realize the part that they play, but when we brought him in on a visit, we did a dinner with him and took him to a local restaurant and had a good time there and from there we went to CMA Fest. And so we spent the evening. You remember who suggested you take him to CMA Fest? Was it? It was Amy? It was. Why did you tell him? Well, because I knew he had been to the Houston Rodeo before. That is right. And it's kind of a similar thing. So she did her part. And honestly, it genuinely was a team effort. You know, he came in and it was funny. We had dinner, dinner ran, you know, ran late. Ryan and Lauren Tannehill came over and had dinner with us as well. And dinner ran late. And all he cared about, and he being hot, all he cared about was making sure he was there for Tim McGraw set. And so we made it literally five minutes before Tim McGraw took the stage. So that was a cool thing. He got to experience it. And you know, the very next day he was here doing all football and Jahari Matthews and Tina Tuggle put a program together for his girlfriend that came in. So we could show her what the City of Nashville had to offer her. And, you know, it was a group effort. You know, like Amy did her part with the suggestion where she was- Where you going? Yeah, we got it. You can look. Here to help, guys. And so it was a collective. It wasn't just us in personnel. It wasn't just the coaches. You know, it was an all hands on deck thing. And I think our organization and our city stepped up. How key was it getting the first visit? It's always key to be first because now the other people have to compete. And again, I feel, you know, I feel very strongly about who Mike is and, you know, Mike's ability to kind of show what our team and what our organization is. And then we have this amazing city and all the different directions that this city is going. It's not too many cities in this country that will be able to compete with Nashville. Now you mentioned the prior relationships that Hopkins had with Mike Frable, with Tim Kelly, et cetera. How much does that play into when you're talking about the real exes and those stuff, the fundamental things, the things that he's gonna be able to do on the field, being able to have a familiarity, not only with like scheme and things like that, but also just the coaches as a whole, gotta be helpful, right? Yeah, for sure. And especially when you speak of for a veteran, you know, veterans, you know, they like to be in places where they're, like you say, there's familiarity, but also from a standpoint where people understand who that player is and that would allow that player to be themselves. And I think that's one of the key things that Mike does a great job with is, you know, meeting players where they are, you know, and knowing that when you come here, there's a certain requirement and expectation of what it means to be a Titan and what it means to play for Mike Frable. And again, a player of Hop's caliber, although Mike wasn't his direct position coach, they had dealings where Mike would come, hey, maybe you could do this a little bit better. You know, and that's just who Mike is, you know, Mike's a teacher. So, you know, that relationship and, you know, again, Hop knowing he could come here and get better as a veteran, but do so, you know, and be himself. I think that helped us. How'd you close Deandre Hopkins? How do you close it? You make sure the money's right. And, you know, again, it was constant communication, you know, with Chad and Vin and his team and, you know, Mike had constant communication with him. I myself kind of fell back a little bit and just kind of, you know, let other people lead and take the helms and Hop knew just from us establishing relationship, learning, established trust with one another that if there were any other questions, he could always reach out and he did. And I was able to answer his questions. And, you know, we, you know, even like the news broke and everything. And honestly, we were still talking, you know? But again, we knew we were close and we knew we were the leaders in the clubhouse. And so when it came time to actually close it, you know, I was on the phone with him and I was like, I need to hear it from you that we're good, you know? And like I tell all the guys and had this conversation with Jeffrey, had this conversation with Derek, we don't negotiate in public. We keep our family business, you know, tight. And so never wanted to, you know, to negotiate his deal publicly. So that's why I meant so much to say, hey, I need to hear from you that we're good. And he gave me the confirmation and we've been solid. Have you been surprised how much of this job is relationship building? Be honest with you, no. You know, I've been able to work so close with guys like Les and John Lynch and, you know, being able to see them up close and just kind of being able to have those guys to ask questions and just all the other, you know, my other GM buddies around the league that I've watched, you know, so close. So it's always relationships, everything we do because we seem to forget that this is a people business, you know, and players, we all have our superstitions and things, but we like our habits, you know, we get into a routine and you like those routines and, you know, it helps go into a new place to establish a routine with people that you already have a relationship with. So now we've talked about how you built that relationship with DeAndre Hopkins and he's here. This weekend, Titans fans will get a chance to see him. Why was DeAndre Hopkins the right veteran receiver for the Tennessee Titans to bring in at this moment? Well, again, it's all about we're building a team, right? And, you know, with our offense, you know, we want to continue to add weapons, you know, to our quarterbacks and give them, you know, outlets to throw to and a player like DeAndre, he's reliable, you know, he's one of the guys that's, you know, respected amongst his peers with his ability to catch the ball, you know, his ability to create separation and just his overall ball skills are very unique. And I think it's lauded by, again, his, you know, the grads around the league, he's so well respected. I got a call from Debo Samuel during, you know, the recruiting process, if you will, you know, of DeAndre and the first thing Debo said to me was like, man, this dude's got it. You know, and he was like, they were training together out in Arizona. And he was like, hey man, like I'm picking his brain, you know, trying to steal things from his bag. And so, you know, to hear that about a guy like, you know, hop in knowing how he's wired, like he has something to prove. I won't share what he was asking, but he asked some very pointed questions this morning when we were signing the deal and he had his notebook. So he's got some, you know, some, some pretty lofty goals, but it's just the way he's wired. More with Ran Carthon on the OTP coming up, but I have to speak for our friends from Duncan. Hey Titans fans, it's always game on with Duncan. So grab a coffee and kick off the action. Whether that's drinking a cup of coffee on your way to the game or grabbing one to go before watching the game at home or listening to the game on Titans radio. Duncan is always there to help you get your game on just like the pros. We need to be at our best come game time, which is why Duncan is the most important part of your game day ritual because it's always the best call for football America runs on Duncan. Man, I could go for a Duncan right now. Donut. All right, next question is yours. Next topic is yours. Where do you want to go, Amy? Well, I want to talk about training camp. So much excitement around this football team in so many different ways. For you as a general manager, you've been through the draft. You've been through a couple waves of free agency and just kind of the ebbs and flows of what that looks like. You've put this team together. Does this feel like the fruits of your labor a little bit to be able to see it on the field and really assess what it is that you have? Well, in short term, sort of kind of, you know, because, you know, again, it's training camp, like you said, and it's going to be, we got 91 players out on the field and it's going to be ever-evolving. I'm trying to pace myself, you know, and I'm not treating it like a sprint. It's more of a marathon. I'm just going to, because if I come out hot with the excitement, then I'll probably crash pretty soon. And so you just always feel like when the players are in the building, there's a different energy. And so that's what I'm most looking forward to. The guys have worked really hard, you know, this all season throughout the spring, which was really impressive. And I know a lot of the guys, even the guys that just showed up here, the rookies and the injured players and the QBs, you can see a difference in some of these guys. You can see the confidence in some of the rookies and what they're doing. So I'm just excited, you know, more so to see their growth and what they've done over the last 30 some odd days and just ready to see it all out on the field. Specifically the draft picks. Peter Skoransky, Tajé Spears, those jump out at me the most, Josh Wiley also, the tight end. What's fair to expect from those guys as part of contributors towards this football team? I mean, it's on them. You know, we can have lofty goals or expectations of what we want, but you know, they got to put in the work. They got to put in the study hours to earn their spot. You know, we have veterans that are in each one of those spots that you named that are trying to make a name for themselves and they're not going to let, you know, the young pup come in and just take it. Each individual that you named and all the other guys, one thing I know is that all those guys work hard. All those guys will have an attention to detail and they're going to study. And so it's just going to be, again, it's about building competition within every position group. And so it's just going to be, I don't want to say an all out war, but those guys are going to be out there competing, you know, every day to earn their spot. How do you balance watching the guys on the field and what you have within your house, I guess, and really evaluating the talent that you have here and also keeping your eyes on what's available and what's happening in the rest of the league because these rosters are not final. There's still a lot of moving pieces and parts between now and September. How do you balance the two? Well, I mean, that's where our other scouts will come in. It's where Anthony Robinson, you know, will come in, Chad as well, Brian Gardner and the pro guys that I named earlier. You know, those guys will be locked in on the other 31 teams and we already have a system in place of guys who could potentially be cut and just the way we're going to do our process will know, you know, probably by the third preseason game, who these potential people are, how we identify them, how they would fit as Titans. And so again, like I said, it's an ever-evolving process and they'll steer me on, you know, hey, you need to see this group of guys. You know, and we've talked literally all summer. You know, I probably too much. All the guys were like, hey, call me if you need anything. I was like, don't call me, you know, because I want to enjoy a little bit of a break. But no, those guys that they've done a ton of work and so we'll be well-prepared if we need to, you know, make a move, whether it's prior to or at cut down, that we'll be well-positioned to do so. The OT people and Amy and I and everybody else with the Titans are not used to the assistant general manager position. Something we haven't had here. Would you just take us through quickly how Anthony Robinson and Chad Brinker will divide the duties and what specifically they will give you in those roles? So Chad's focus is what we call strategy. So, and like I've talked about, you know, like numerous times with Chad, he brings in a unique experience, right? He's done pro scouting, he's done college scouting, he's done analytics, he's done contracts. And so just the way Chad thinks conceptually will help us with big picture views. Anthony is a scout scout. You know, we actually started our careers together. I was a pro scout, he was a scouting assistant. And so he worked his way from scouting assistant all the way up to college director in Atlanta and actually interviewed for the GM job in Atlanta when it became open. So that's his focus is the personnel group. So the personnel guys will be under Anthony and then under Chad we have the cap and analytics and in our football systems. And so it's a perfect marriage. You know, it's funny, Anthony and I worked together before but neither one of us have worked with Chad, right? And so I hadn't worked with Anthony I think in 10 years but we jail really well together. You know, those are two guys that I respect immensely and I know that at the end of the day they want what's best for this organization. And so they're excellent in sharing their opinions and helping us get to the best and most informed decision. Within the Titans coaching staff there have been some rearranging, I guess. It's more than anything, a couple new faces but a lot of people in new places with different responsibilities. How excited are you to watch that group kind of continue to come together to gel, to build chemistry and establish almost a new workflow from what we've seen in previous years? Yeah, I mean, it's fun just to watch our coaches coach. You know, I stopped Mike this morning after our squad meeting and I was like, hey dude, like you're damn impressive in front of that group, in front of the team. He's one of the best I've seen. And then you look at our assistant coaches and the enthusiasm that they coach. Like I've never seen, like when I was in San Francisco Kyle would throw during group install to the defense which is a cool thing to see. And then you come here and Mike's wearing the pads and he's taking shots and it's cause he's into it. And like I said, Mike is a teacher by nature. And so you see guys like Chris Harris, you're gonna hear Chris. And Chris is standing in the middle of the field. His guys make a play, he's sprinting to these guys. And it's just the enthusiasm that all our guys coach with. Coach Dues, you hear him, he's out there and it's like a nice balance. And then you got the more quiet teachers like Coach J.O. with the backs. And Rob Moore with the receivers, more guys who are kind of on the quieter side but they still get their message across. So it's a great group, a great mix. And it's just exciting when you're out there on the field and you're just watching them. And then, like you said, it's some new faces. Anthony Levine, to bring him here kind of fresh off the field. A guy that's earned it the hard way. Being a mini-camp tryout guy to play in 12 years in the league and winning multiple Super Bowls. And now he's coaching, it's a different dynamic that he can bring to these younger guys who are trying to earn a spot on our team. Speaking about guys in respect, Jeffrey Simmons. You guys worked hard to get that contract done. He was obviously very pleased. Amy Adams-Strunck was very pleased. Everybody who loves the Titans was very pleased. That was priority one when you walked in the door? Yes, to get Jeffrey done. I mean, Jeffrey checks all the boxes of what we want a Titan to be. And it just made sense at a time where that market in where the position he plays, it's growing. There are some real studs at that spot in the league and felt like our guy was a stud that was right up there with the best of them. And so it was important to come in, get that done and kind of establish a way of, hey, we're gonna take care of our own. And so again, it's easy when it's a guy like Jeff that checks all the boxes and you know that this deal is only gonna motivate him even more. All right, let me talk Seat Geek right here. Titans fans know it, it's official. Seat Geek is now the official ticketing partner of the Tennessee Titans. That's right, the deal is finalized and Seat Geek is the newest member of the Titans family. Have you downloaded your Seat Geek app yet? I have. I have too. It's very user-friendly. Very user-friendly. Yeah, if I can do it, anybody can. I'll use the mic for the Beyonce. Thank you. Oh, did you for Beyonce? Yes, if you haven't heard the name yet, well you've heard of Beyonce, get used to it because you'll be hearing a lot more this season whether you're buying or selling tickets to Titans games or any other live event in Nashville. Seat Geek is the place to do it. Seat Geek, the new official ticketing partner of the Tennessee Titans. So you read the line there. So Titans fans can fan. Well done. Thank you very much. And by the way, nice job. Pro just kicking right in there on the spots. Big new client, the GM's right in there. That's good. Did you want to go here? No, go ahead, Mike. You've got something. I do have some. Hit it, man. Because I want to credit you and really point out that from the moment you got here, you were complimentary of Ryan Tannehill. Even when eight million things were being reported all different places, you never swayed. You're like, Ryan Tannehill's the quarterback. Ryan, why were you so resolute in all of that from the time that you got here until this moment in time that Ryan Tannehill was not only a valuable member of this team, but a pretty darn good quarterback. You know, it goes back to what I said previously about not doing business in public. You know, there was a lot of things that were reported about his deal, you know, and none of it came from anyone inside this building. None of the concerns about the cap number and all of that, like that was more outside than inside, right? And so, you know, again, Ryan's won a lot of football games, you know, in this league and Ryan has proven that he is an NFL starting quarterback. And, you know, again, I lean on my experiences, you know, come from San Fran last year. We don't know where our season ends up if we don't have, you know, we started with Tray Lance, he gets hurt, moved to Jimmy Garoppolo, he gets hurt, and then you end up with, you know, with Brock and, you know, when you have a starting caliber NFL quarterback, you don't just throw him out of the window, you know, and so, again, Ryan has proven countless times that he wins games in this league and that's valuable for us here. How hard is the rumor thing for you as a GM? It's not hard because it's not coming from here, you know, and it's not coming from within our family. So I just have to constantly impart that on our players that if they don't hear it directly from myself, Mike, or Amy, then it's not real. And, you know, again, it's social media. And my take on that is also, you know, it's not only do the players have to deal with it from the fans, but it creates the question from their family members and those closest to them. And I don't think that's fair. And that's why I don't refuse to speak about anybody's contract or their status with our team publicly. You know, if the player has a question about that, I'm sure they can go talk to Mike, they can come talk to me, and we'll be able to answer those questions truthfully. And so the players will know where they stand with us and we don't have to do this thing in public. That has to go a long way in creating those relationships and being able to do deals and really kind of establish who's going to be a part of this ball club when you've established that rapport that, hey, listen, I'm gonna be up front with you. I'm gonna talk to you straight every single time. That's gotta be helpful, right? Yeah, I will hope so. I had a speaking engagement earlier and they were asking, you know, they said John Elway, John Lynch, and, you know, myself, they were like, yeah, you guys have all been former players. And I was like, can I cut you off? You said John Elway, John Lynch, and then me. I was like, you're talking about two gold jackets and an undrafted dude, like, it's a bit of a separate. Oh, thank you. You're the great guy right now. And so I just think it's, you know, when you've been in the locker room before and I've been a former player that has been cut thousands of times and I know what it feels like on both, on all ends. And I just, all you ever want as a player is for someone to tell you the truth and be upfront with you. Now, you may not necessarily like what they have to say, but they let you know upfront. And so that's how, that's the only way I know how to be. That's how I've always been, you know, since I've been on this side of it, it's particularly with the players. It's just be upfront. I know a couple of the guys in San Fran, like even when I was saying this way, when we signed disease and we brought him in, he so used to me just being on him that as soon as he saw me, he was like, I know you got something smart or slick to say, you know, but he knows that at the end of the day that I'm just gonna always tell him the truth cause I just want what's best for him. Let's talk about Pinnacle. Our friends at Pinnacle Financial Partners open a Titans checking account with Pinnacle with at least $100 and a recurring direct deposit by August the 18th. And you could get two tickets to five Titans home games. Wow. How about that? That's pretty good. Details at titansbanking.com. Titans checking from Pinnacle, Play Hard Bank Easy, Pinnacle, member FDIC. Start to wrap it up here, cause you are busy man. We thank you, Rand Carthon for joining us on the OTP. The sense that I get in looking at the makeup of the roster is you have a lot of hungry players. You have young guys who want to make a roster. You have young guys who want to take a step forward and be a starter. You have guys who are in the midst of their career who are being given an opportunity to do more just like Mike Vrable had when he moved from Pittsburgh to New England. A chance to move from a backup to a starter. You've got older guys who want to hold their spots. You've got guys on one year contracts, guys in last years of contracts. You have a lot of flexibility cap wise next year. I'm sure every agent and every player knows that. So it feels like it's a very hungry group, especially coming off of a seven and 10 season in which the Titans lost their last seven. Was that all by design? Well, I look at it this way. I hope every year we're talking about we have a very hungry group, regardless of what the previous year record was. And I think, I mean, that's how you win football games. We were intentional with our targets and what we were looking for. So I guess that's the short answer to it. We were intentional. But again, you want to field a competitive team every year that's built on speed, violence, and versatility. And that's what we want a Tennessee Titan to be. And every player that fits that mold, we're always trying to get them. I can't speak for every franchise because I've only worked for one, but in 2006, the Tennessee Titans went out and got Kevin Mawai, David Thornton, Chris Hope. And those guys really helped transform the franchise as free agents who were serious pros, who took it seriously every single day and instilled something different in the locker room. I feel the same thing with these free agents, the same type of personalities that the first minute you meet them, you say professional. Fair? Yeah, very fair. And like you said earlier, I think all those guys have something to prove. All these guys have starter level ability. They just haven't been in the best position to consistently start. They all have started and have proved that they can play at a high level in this league, but now they get the opportunity to play in extended time. And we just hope they take advantage of it. Each one of those guys brought their own unique, not only skill set, but their own unique personality to the team. And I smile because you can't help but smile when you think about Arden. You're going to hear Arden. Arden Key? You're going to hear him every day. Aziz is more of the stoic thinker and guys like Giff, he's going to come in. He's just a grit guy and, you know, SMB. I tease him all the time because I tell him he's a little pretty boy, you know. Sean Murphy bunting? Yeah. So we have our little inside joke. But, you know, he's another guy that has something to prove, you know, a former high pick. And, you know, there's a bunch of talent down there in Tampa and he wasn't consistently in the lineup. And now he has the opportunity to come here to compete to, you know, make his stake in the claim to be a starting corner in the league. So we were intentional about the guys that we signed and again, you know, knowing who our coach is. And like I've said before, like I'm in a very unique spot in being a first time GM to come in with an established coach who has an established culture. You know, most GMs nowadays come in with a new head coach and you have to establish that culture. I'm well positioned to just come in and learn what that culture is. And along with my staff do our part in building, helping add to that culture. Now, if coach Mack was here, he'd tell me to keep my powder dry. Keep your powder dry. But he's not. So I'm not going to. So you're not gonna keep your powder dry? As the season is starting. Training camp is the kickoff to the season. I don't care what you say, it just is. As the season is starting, what is Rand Kartham most excited about about this Titans team? I just want to see the team when it's complete. And we have our, you know, 60 some odd guys here whether that's the 53, whether that's the practice squad. Cause those practice squad guys are going to be valuable. They're going to be very valuable to us. And I just want to see it all come together. And when we first line up to, you know, to kick off down in New Orleans, you know, that's when I'll, that day is when I think I'll be the most excited. What do you think you'll do in two weeks when you see that football team you've put together play in Chicago? I mean, even then, but from me in that point, I'll still be in an evaluation mode, you know, and you're getting through the preseason and, you know, that's a bit of a game you play in the preseason cause you got a ration snaps and, you know, all those things. And so I'm still going to be excited cause, you know, once a game day, whether it's a preseason exhibition, you know what I mean? It's, it's all fun. But when it's really go time, when it all really matters, you know, I think that's when I'll probably be at my most excited point. Thank you for making time for us. Anytime man. I told you, I haven't talked to anybody as much as I've talked to you since I've been here. So I think I'm, we're, we're family now. Aw, like, that was lovely. It was lovely, it's true. Rand Carthon, thank you. Thank you. Anything else you'd like to say, Amy, before? I'm not ruining that moment. Are you getting me? Are you getting me? Are you getting the suggestions coming in terms of where we need to take players? Yeah, you just come find me. I'm very hip and very plugged in to the Nashville scene. All the OT people need to know that Amy actually basically signed Deandre Hopkins. That's what. You're welcome, America. Tweet that. Well, let's, let's do this then. Can we do the wave? The draft day, the draft night wave. Thank you. Thanking far bureau health clads for Rand Carthon and Amy Wells. I'm Mike Keith and this is the OTP.