Former Crimson Tide Super Bowl hero Mike Borgonzi ascends through the ranks to become the new Tennessee Titans GM

As the Kansas City Chiefs assistant general manager, the Everett native’s NFL stock rose quickly to take over his own team in just three short years

By Joe McConnell

Former Everett High School Super Bowl hero Mike Borgonzi has been with the NFL’s (National Football League) Kansas City Chiefs organization since 2008. Borgonzi has steadily moved up in the team’s front office, before assuming the role of assistant general manager three years ago.
During Mike’s tenure in Kansas City, the team has won three Super Bowls, and are on the verge of winning another one. If they are able to pull off the feat, it will be the team’s third straight title, thus becoming the first National Football League club to ever do so. But first, they are getting ready to play in their seventh straight AFC (American Football Conference) championship game this coming Sunday night against the Buffalo Bills. The winner goes to Super Bowl LVIIII (59) in New Orleans on Feb. 9.
But as of last Friday, Jan. 17, Mike is no longer a part of the Kansas City Chiefs organization after accepting the job as the new Tennessee Titans general manager. They held a press conference two days ago (Jan. 22) to introduce the Everett native to the Tennessee media and fans.
Mike grew up on Meadowview Road with his parents, Al and Doris, and younger brother Dave, who has been the Chicago Bears linebackers coach since 2022. Dave was recently named as the defensive coordinator of the East squad in the prestigious East-West Shrine Bowl game. That game will take place on Feb. 4 at the Star’s Ford Center in Frisco, Texas.
Mike, who played a starring role on the Tide’s first Super Bowl championship in 1997, was one of 10 candidates for the Titans’ general manager job that also included Miami Dolphins Senior Personnel Executive Reggie McKenzie, former Atlanta Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Assistant General Manager John Spytek, Seattle Seahawks Senior Director of Player Personnel Matt Berry, Indianapolis Colts Assistant GM Ed Dodds, Buffalo Bills Director of Player Personnel Terrance Gray, Cleveland Browns Assistant GM & VP of Football Operations Catherine Hickman, Chicago Bears Assistant General Manager Ian Cunninghan and Green Bay Packers Vice President of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan.
In a press release on the Tennessee Titans’ website, Titans Controlling Owner Amy Adams Strunk said of Borgonzi: “Mike’s experience speaks for itself: he has been part of the core team (at Kansas City) that delivered four AFC championships and three Super Bowls over the past five seasons. It’s the type of standard (that) I want to build here in Tennessee. I know we have a lot of work ahead of us, and I’m excited for Mike to get started.”
The press release continued by stating that the pairing of Borgonzi with Titans President of Football Operations Chad Brinker is viewed as a perfect fit moving forward as the franchise aims to regain its footing following a tough stretch.
Brinker also commented on the Titans’ new hire. “During Mike’s 16 years in the league, he has been a key part of transforming the Chiefs from a two-win team to a three-time Super Bowl champion,” he said. “During our meetings, he articulated a clear plan to build a championship standard (here) in Nashville through consistency, discipline and hard work. I’ve admired him for many years, and I’m thrilled to add him to the team as our general manager.”
Brinker then added: “(Borgonzi) has literally thought through everything you could possibly think through as a general manager. He’s mapped out the entire plan from everything he believes in, which is the same thing we believe in here, the draft, development and retain model. From that to everything about being a general manager – in particular when it comes to the evaluation from pro to college, the calendar, what that looks like (and) the (many) meetings to his plan on working with the coaching staff in the player development side of it, player engagement and sports medicine – he literally had a plan for everything. And then, he’s also been at a place that’s been able to execute that plan at a high level.
“Mike should have been a general manager two years ago. He is ready for this job, and this was the place that he wanted to be,” Brinker went on to say. “When he came in the building, he said it just felt like a family here, and it reminded him a little bit of Kansas City, and what they have been able to build there.
“Now, we still have a lot to do from a culture perspective in our building, but he can see there’s some good bones here. We have some really good people in this building, and he’s looking forward to getting in here and helping us start turning the culture around and start turning over this roster and really working side-by-side with me and others. He just said he felt something special when he left this building (last Friday), and he felt like it was the right place for him.
“We’re really excited to get him. I think this will be a great partnership, that’s what this is. And there’s a humility to him that I love, and what he represents and who he is as a human being. I believe this will be a really good partnership.”