Ran Carthon became the Tennessee Titan franchise's 14th general manager in January.
Previously, he served for two seasons as director of player personnel with the 49ers after handling five seasons as the director of pro personnel in San Francisco.
Ran, 42, was one of seven candidates to interview for the position with the Titans. "I want us to build the best team possible – a competitive, sound football team that Nashville and other surrounding areas are proud of," he says.
"We're excited to add Ran to our organization," Titans Controlling Owner Amy Adams Strunk states. "He brings a variety of valuable experiences to our team. I was impressed with his natural leadership qualities and ability to connect with people. With talent evaluation being critical to this role, the roster they've built in San Francisco stands out. He played an important role there constructing one of our league's best teams."
Ran's father, Maurice, also played in the NFL with the New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts.
Ran himself played running back for University of Florida and signed as an undrafted free agent with the Indianapolis Colts in 2004. He played for three NFL seasons with the Colts and Detroit Lions.
This new Titans' leader says he doesn't miss playing as much as he misses locker room camaraderie. "In my new role, I have to leave the locker room more to the guys and let it be their personal space."
So far, he says one of the toughest parts of his new job is being away from his family. "In terms of the job, I’ve been doing this for a while, but I knew things would come up that I had no experience with. In those cases, you lean on your mentors and people who've been there."
Football executives and former players Martin Mayhew and John Lynch Jr. are a couple of the advisers with whom Ran says he's fortunately collaborated.
Regarding Ran's main considerations heading into the NFL draft as a first-year general manager, he says, "The cool thing about this experience was having a partner in Mike Vrabel. He’s done it all before. Of course, there was pressure because this was my first time facilitating an NFL Draft as a general manager, but I had a lot of experience around me to lean on and bounce ideas off of.
We also had to just trust our board, and not allow outside circumstances dictate our plan. I think we did that well."
Ran says he's looking forward to exploring Nashville. "I’ve found a few places I already frequent, so I’m excited to keep growing that list."
Regarding hobbies, Ran quips, "If you ask my wife, she’ll tell you I have no hobbies. I have no life outside of my family and football. I do like music, though. I'm not musically inclined myself, but I appreciate it."
He says he relishes being around creators, so when he goes to Miami in the summers, he joins studio artists to just watch them create their music. "I’m looking for a studio in Nashville to engage with and spend time drawing inspiration from artists and musicians," he announces.
Ran's charitable interests lie in taking action on things that touch his heart. "I always want to lend a hand and show up for things that make an impact," he adds.
A good example of Ran's idea of support is the "Fatherhood Ticket Program" he created in Atlanta, which gives two tickets and two sideline passes to a deserving father.
"Usually kids write-in and tell us why their dad deserves it. We hear those stories about single parent households where dad wasn’t really involved, but you rarely hear the stories about where dad was involved and played a big role. It’s a great way to celebrate the men who are stepping up to fill such an important role in a kid’s life. I definitely want to bring the Fatherhood Ticket Program to Nashville. I think the community will love it," he says.
Regarding how his family's brood is getting acclimated, he says, "Our daughter is going off to college this year. I also have an assistant general manager in my house. My oldest son, at 6 years old, critiques every signing we do and every draft pick. My kids are amazing. I love spending time with them. Our house is always busy, and no one is short on opinions."
He shares that he met his wife, Heaven, during college in a Haitian-Creole class.
Ran's Father's Day tradition? "It's the best. I like to just chill out for the day. The kids will bring me breakfast and then I just have a relaxing day for myself."