The Tennessee Titans were on John Harbaugh’s shortlist this past offseason as he searched for his next head-coaching opportunity.
After the Baltimore Ravens fired Harbaugh, the one-time Super Bowl champion was a hot commodity. The New York Giants wooed him, reeling in the now-64-year-old before he was reportedly supposed to meet with Titans officials in Baltimore.
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But, according to a Saturday report from The Athletic’s Jonathan Jones, Harbaugh was back in touch with Tennessee recently, this time inquiring about the services of a franchise icon. Harbaugh called Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk directly in attempt to trade for defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, per The Athletic.
That atypical maneuver didn’t do the trick, of course, as the three-time All-Pro wound up being dealt to the Chicago Bears on Thursday.
The Bears sent the Titans 2027 and 2028 first-round picks, along with a 2027 fourth-round pick, in exchange for the 29-year-old Simmons and a 2028 fifth-round pick.
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Simmons is the first DT in the common draft era — since 1967 — to be traded for multiple first-round picks, per ESPN.
Prior to Harbaugh making his play for Simmons, Giants general manager Joe Schoen contacted Titans GM Mike Borgonzi, according to The Athletic. Back then, Schoen was reportedly told that Tennessee wouldn’t be moving Simmons.
Other teams got that same answer, per The Athletic. Bears GM Ryan Poles explained Friday that he had always gotten a “no” when probing for a potential Simmons trade. That was, until this week’s deal quickly came together.
“I honestly didn’t think it would ever happen,” Poles admitted to reporters. “So when that window kind of opened where it was a possibility, and they had to work their process as well, it happened pretty fast.
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“It was a late call and happened in the early morning.”
Following Schoen’s exchange with Borgonzi, Harbaugh ventured to hit Strunk’s line, according to The Athletic’s report. That didn’t result in a different outcome.
“One GM who became aware of the call said it violates a code amongst primary football decision-makers, that they will only deal with each other,” Jones reported.
It was on Tuesday that the 1-6 Titans reportedly decided to start entertaining offers for Simmons. Poles and Borgonzi go way back, overlapping at Boston College and then working together for years with the Kansas City Chiefs.
That relationship factored into the trade’s completion, and apparently so did the timing.
As for Harbaugh and the Giants, they reportedly remain trade deadline buyers. An important distinction, as reported by The Athletic, is that Harbaugh reports to ownership, not Schoen. It’s not uncommon for veteran head coaches to do that in the NFL.
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But, again, a head coach reaching out directly to an owner to broker a trade like Harbaugh reportedly did is rather unconventional.
