Titans’ GM John Robinson becomes emotional

Gmin is not easy.

In a high-stakes race in which fans, players, staff and property depend on their off-field decisions to succeed on the field, only one 32-year-old NFL general manager leaves his team’s final game happy with his job. . The work is a relentless pressure cooker, where critics drown out applause and fluidity is the norm.

Losing the playoffs is still heavy for Titans GM

For Tennessee Titans general manager John Robinson, the weight of the pressure is staggering. The Robinson Titans won No. 1 in the AFC playoffs last season, only to lose at home to eventual AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals in their first playoff. They lost by the slightest margin when Ryan Tanehill’s late interception led Cincinnati to a winning goal of the game after the time was up.

But the margin for the participating teams does not matter, only the result. And Tennessee’s season ended in a devastating end to that January Saturday. When asked Wednesday at the NFL Scout Factory what he could do better this off-season, Robinson had to hold back his tears before he could answer.

Tennessee Titans general manager John Robinson speaks at a press conference at the NFL Scout Factory in Indianapolis on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 (AP Photo / Michael Conroy)

John Robinson was emotional when he talked about losing to Tennessee in the playoffs. (AP Photo / Michael Conroy)

“It keeps me awake at night,” Robinson said before taking a long pause as his emotions rose. … “The trust that the property has placed in me, our fans and – I want to say that the stadium was shaking. And you can only imagine what next week would be like. Quite a long list of things I need to be better at. “

It is rare for this type of emotion to occur from a player immediately after an emotional loss. For an CEO six weeks after the fact – this is unheard of. It is also completely understandable.

It is impossible to do this job with any degree of success without being truly invested. Robinson has obviously invested. But the probability dictates that he will probably face the same kind of disappointment at this time next year. This is just part of the work for 31 general managers each out of season.