By TERESA M. WALKER
AP Pro Football Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have hired San Francisco director of player personnel Ran Carthon as their general manager.
The Titans announced the hiring Wednesday morning, wrapping up a search that formally started Jan. 12. Carthon will be the franchise’s first minority GM. He is tentatively scheduled to be introduced at a news conference Friday.
Controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk, who ran the search committee that interviewed seven candidates, said in a statement they are excited to add Carthon with his variety of experience as a player, scout and personnel executive.
“I was impressed with his natural leadership qualities and his ability to connect with people,” Strunk said. “With talent evaluation being critical to this role, the roster they have built in San Francisco stands out. He played an important role there constructing one of our league’s best teams.”
Carthon will be the sixth minority among the past eight GMs hired in the NFL, which has held two programs since late May to promote more minority candidates for front office jobs. Carthon, who will be 42 on Feb. 10, attended that first session last May.
Carthon joined San Francisco in 2017 along with coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. The 49ers since then have made three playoff appearances, winning two division titles and the 2019 NFC championship. The 49ers had seven Pro Bowl picks in 2021 and six this season.
The 49ers will host Dallas on Sunday night in the NFC divisional round after earning the No. 2 seed.
Carthon started as San Francisco’s director of pro personnel before being promoted to his latest role in 2021. In that position, he evaluated top college prospects while also assessing pending free agents for the team’s target list.
Carthon, who also interviewed last year for general manager jobs with Chicago and the New York Giants, worked for the Rams between 2012 and 2016 as director of pro personnel. He started as a pro scout with Atlanta in 2008 through 2011.
He interviewed with the Titans last Friday. Strunk headed up the search committee to replace Jon Robinson who was fired Dec. 6 in his seventh season in the midst of the Titans’ seven-game skid en route to a 7-10 finish.
Carthon played running back at Florida and was part of the Gators’ 2000 Southeastern Conference Championship team. He spent three years in the NFL as an undrafted free agent starting with Indianapolis in 2004 and played in nine games with the Colts between 2005 and 2006.
Born in Osceola, Arkansas, Carthon earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology at Florida after his playing career in 2008. He took part in the NFL Career Development Symposium at the Wharton School of Business in 2013 while with the Rams and again in 2018 with San Francisco.
His father, Maurice, played in the NFL and coached with seven teams.
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