In the first time we’ve seen her speak on camera, Tennessee Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk declared that as people get to know her they’ll see she’s unafraid to step forward to make big decisions for the franchise.
In a behind-the-scenes video that runs nearly 10 minutes, she’s interviewed multiple times through the team’s search for a new GM and coaching search.
I’ve met her for brief hellos but this is my first real view. It’s a polished, team-produced video, but she comes across as she’s been described to me, as confident and smart.
“I’m always up for a challenge,” she said. “As people get to know me, they’ll know I am ready for it.”
The video is apparently the start of a more public profile for Strunk, who’s slated to speak at two sessions for season-ticket holders at the Music City Center on Feb. 18.
She details why she came to like Jon Robinson as the Titans new GM, pointing to a plan in Tampa Bay that kept No. 1 pick Jamies Winston upright and in all 16 games as the Buccaneers quarterback.
“I want a plan like that for our team,” she said.
Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota twice suffered knee injuries as a rookie chosen No. 2, behind Winston, and played in only 12 games as he got beat up.
She’s not in a hurry to show the other NFL owners that she belongs, but said she knows she’s under scrutiny.
“They’re watching to see what I am doing,” she said. “I don’t blame them. I am the new guy.”
She also addressed a primary complaint Titans fans have of her, that she lives outside of Houston, not in Music City.
“I know I don’t live here,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t love Nashville.”
I think a good share of fans will like what they see here -- which includes an admission that she knows some will be unhappy about Mike Mularkey being hired.
She speaks of being deliberate and I understand the approach to a big new role she took on only in March of 2015.
Still, she could have made things much easier on her and the team by allowing an innocuous behind-the-scenes piece like this to be published months ago.