Titans GM Ran Carthon Denies Reports of Rift with Fired Coach Mike Vrabel

Tennessee Titans General Manager Ran Carthon dismissed persistent reports that he and Coach Mike Vrabel didn't get along. In fact, Carthon said, "we worked well together and had a good relationship."

NASHVILLE — Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon considers former coach Mike Vrabel a friend.

On Tuesday, several hours after Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk fired Vrabel, Carthon spoke with reporters for nearly 35 minutes and clarified the relationship with his former coach. 

'I know there's been a lot of speculation over the last two, three months, or whatever it's been, about the nature of Mike and I's relationship. I will say that Mike and I have never had any issue regarding whether it's personal or professional," Carthon said. "We worked well together and had a good relationship.

"We were in lockstep, so I want to finally come out and dispel that, and I wish Vrabes nothing but the best. I consider him a friend and I feel that we'll be that way moving forward."

When Strunk informed Vrabel that she was firing him, Carthon told reporters that he wasn't in the room.

"These things are ultimately Mrs. Amy's decisions," Carthon said. "Organizationally structured, we both (reported) to her. It was about Amy's long-term vision of what she wants the organization to be and how she wants to move this organization forward."

Strunk said she believes the best teams have a collaborative effort in her statement that was released Tuesday morning. 

"As the NFL continues to innovate and evolve, I believe the teams best positioned for sustained success will be those who empower an aligned and collaborative team across all football functions," Strunk wrote. "Last year, we began a shift in our approach to football leadership and made several changes to our personnel to advance that plan. As I continued to assess the state of our team, I arrived at the conclusion that the team would also benefit from the fresh approach and perspective of a new coaching staff."

Carthon emphasized that he and Vrabel had a collaborative relationship and that he would work the same way with the next coach. 

"(Mike and I) worked well together. We got along. I feel like our collaboration was fine," Carthon said. "In that given time when I said I wanted to serve Mike and serve his coaching staff, that’s going to be the philosophy moving forward. No matter who our next head coach is and who our coaching staff is, our job in personnel is to serve them and to provide them with players that they want to coach, and that fit their scheme. I think that’s the nature of the position."