Titans Take Front Office Staffer From Patriots

SI's Albert Breer reports that Monti Ossenfort will be Tennessee's new director of player personnel

Stop me if you have heard this: The Tennessee Titans have added someone from the New England Patriots.

SI’s senior NFL reporter Albert Breer said Monday that the Titans have hired long-time Patriots scouting director Monti Ossenfort to be their director of player personnel. Tennessee promoted Ryan Cowden from director of player personnel to vice president of player personnel two years ago and his original position has remained unfilled since.

Ossenfort has been in New England’s front office for 15 years. In 2014, he replaced current Titans general manager Jon Robinson as scouting director when Robinson went to Tampa Bay as the Buccaneers’ director of player personnel.

Source: Patriots college scouting director Monti Ossenfort is headed to the Titans as director of player personnel.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 4, 2020

Earlier Monday, in his regular MMQB column, Breer noted that Ossenfort likely was on the move.

Robinson has been Tennessee’s general manager since 2016 and ever since routinely has exploited his Patriots’ connections. He hired head coach Mike Vrabel, a linebacker with New England during his playing days. He added free agents Logan Ryan (2017), Malcolm Butler (2018) and Dion Lewis (2018), among others.

Ossenfort followed a similar path up the ranks of the Patriots’ personnel department as Robinson. Before 2014, he rose from area scout to national scout to assistant director of college scouting.

Earlier this year he interviewed with Cleveland during the Browns’ search for a general manager. He was the runner-up for that position and the belief was at that time that the New England front office would remain unchanged this offseason. That no longer is the case.

As director of player personnel Ossenfort will work closely with Robinson and Vrabel in a variety of ways that includes talent evaluation, roster management and contract negotiations.