Jon Robinson started his career in the NFL back in 2002 as an area scout working for the New England Patriots. Through the years that followed, he rose up the ranks before eventually becoming the team’s director of college scouting in 2009 — a role Robinson held until 2013, when he left the Patriots to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Four years later, he was on the move again, this time to become the Tennessee Titans’ new general manager.
In his four years as the Titans’ GM, Robinson and the franchise have had notable success: Tennessee went 9-7 each season, and twice made it to the playoffs. In 2017, the team advanced to the divisional round before falling to the Patriots; last season, the Titans marched all the way to the AFC Championship Game as a sixth seed. Needless to say that the club has reached a mild contender status ever since Robinson took over the front office.
What has allowed him to do that was the import of numerous men with championship pedigree — men whose roots can be traced back all the way to the place where Robinson’s time in pro football also began: New England. Throughout the years, the 44-year-old has brought numerous former Patriots on board. The latest of which joined just this week when Monti Ossenfort took over as the Titans’ new director of player personnel.
Ossenfort originally had succeeded Robinson as the Patriots’ director of college scouting, and him moving to Tennessee means that he now becomes the sixth member of the Titans to have ties to New England — joining a group that also includes of the following men:
- General manager Jon Robinson (2002-13)
- Head coach Mike Vrabel (2001-08)
- Wide receiver Cody Hollister (2017-18)
- Guard Jamil Douglas (2016-17)
- Cornerback Malcolm Butler (2014-17)
Before Ossenfort’s arrival in Tennessee, however, the team’s offseason was marked more by departures than arrivals when it comes to ex-Patriots.
Running back Dion Lewis was released after having spent the previous two years with the team, while cornerback Logan Ryan remains unsigned in free agency following his three-year stint with the Titans. Furthermore, defensive coordinator Dean Pees announced his retirement while linebackers coach Tyrone McKenzie left to join the Detroit Lions (another organization with deep ties to New England). All four spent time with the Patriots in the past.
Now, Ossenfort becomes the latest member of the team to move south to join Robinson and head coach/ex-Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel with the Titans. The pipeline between New England and Tennessee appears to be alive and well.