NASHVILLE — Ran Carthon looked up, pausing before answering a question his aunt warned would come.
He is the first Black general manager in the history of the Tennessee Titans, a franchise founded in 1960 as the Houston Oilers in the original American Football League.
“I understand I’m standing on the shoulders of giants, and there have been plenty of men that have come before me that have laid this foundation that allowed me to be in this spot,” Carthon said Friday at his introductory news conference.
Carthon, who turns 42 in February, had been too busy putting himself in this position to take time to contemplate the history of the moment. Not after a whirlwind week of interviews, a wild-card playoff victory with the San Francisco 49ers and accepting his new job.
Becoming an NFL GM had been Carthon’s only goal after he went from undrafted rookie running back out of the University of Florida to a brief playing career before front office jobs with the Atlanta Falcons, the St. Louis and Los Angeles Rams and the 49ers.