When the Tennessee Titans began their general manager and head coach searches in early January, there was an assumption in league circles that the heirs of Bud Adams would soon be putting the franchise up for sale.
Despite ownership structure issues that have landed on the NFL's radar, controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk has made it clear since then that the team is staying in the family.
"Every month we're getting closer to what they want," Strunk said Saturday of the ownership issues, via ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky. "It's going to get resolved. We're not worried about that at all."
Strunk and Susie Adams Smith, daughters of late owner Bud Adams, each hold a 33 percent stake in the Titans. The family of Adams' deceased son, Kenneth Adams III, splits the other third. NFL policy requires one person to hold the majority of ownership in each of the 32 clubs.
"Ownership policies are lengthy, but essentially they require a single owner to represent the club locally but also at the league level," Commissioner Roger Goodell explained in his state of the league address before Super Bowl 50. "We work on the basis of 32 individual owners, each having a vote, and when league matters come up, whatever they may be, we work on a vote of 24 of the 32."
Although Strunk assumed the role of controlling owner in March of 2015, it's only recently that she has begun raise her public profile in Nashville.
"Amy wants to be out there. She wants to be more involved," general manager Jon Robinson said Saturday, via the Tennessean. "She spoke with me about that. She spoke with Mike about that. And she's learning how to do that. She's very prideful about this community, about this organization, about you guys as fans of this football team. She does want to be seen more. She wants to be around more. That's important to her."
With the drafting of young franchise quarterbackMarcus Mariota and the addition of a few key pickups in free agency, the Titans seem to be an organization on the rise. Stabilizing the long-term ownership of the club will go a long way toward bolstering that rise.
