As teams in the NFL — and professional sports in general — continue to use analytics more and more in decision-making, it appears the Tennessee Titans might be lagging behind this trend.
According to ESPN analytics writer, Seth Walder, the Titans are the only team in the NFL to not have someone on staff whose specific job title it is to work in analytics. This is the second-straight year in which the Titans have earned this distinction.
Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky points out that the Titans have coaches and scouts help out in this area, and it’s also possible that the team outsources the responsibility and we just don’t know it yet.
Of course, analytics should never be the end-all-be-all of decision-making in any capacity, as it’s still important for coaches to go with their gut and what they see on the field.
Have maintained for a good while this is a bad look for the #Titans. They have coaches and scouts all chip in. Perhaps they outsource some. Perhaps they hide it. But in 2021 not having someone with a title in such a crucial area is plain weird. https://t.co/x0n2D9U7MJ
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) May 15, 2021
However, it is a helpful tool that gives teams more options to consider when trying to decide the best course of action in-game, like when making a decision on fourth down, for example.
We doubt the Titans have abandoned analytics altogether, but it appears on the surface that they aren’t taking this new way of looking at sports as seriously as the rest of the league.
