Titans GM candidate: Ownership didn't want to make big changes

Former Denver Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist interviewed for the Tennessee Titans general manager position and his experience reveals an interesting nugget about the last-place Titans' overall strategy.

In a long piece for Bleacher Report, Sundquist discussed the plan he pitched to the Titans aimed at rebuilding the team that finished with an NFL-worst 3-13 record in 2015.

Sundquist didn't get the job and it may be because he wanted to make more substantial changes than Titans ownership was willing to undertake.

"It was also clear ownership wanted to stay the course inside the halls of the complex," Sundquist writes. "I was told, 'We don't want to blow up the building. This is a staff that works well together and avoids the internal politics and bickering that can and has brought down others in the past.'"

The Titans ultimately hired former Tampa Bay Buccaneers executive Jon Robinson as their new general manager, then promptly announced interim head coach Mike Mularkey would be retained.

The Titans were widely criticized for the Mularkey move, with ESPN's Paul Kuharsky pointing out Mularkey has the second-worst winning percentage in NFL history heading into his third head coaching job.

Based on Sundquist's experience, it sounds as if the Titans may not have ever seriously considered any options other than staying the course with Mularkey.