Tennessee
3 ways Tennessee Titans can thrive like the Chiefs (other than cloning Patrick Mahomes)
Let’s avoid the obvious here.
The Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champions for the third time in five years, and the answers to “how” and “why” are pretty obvious: The Chiefs have quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and the rest of the league doesn’t. Mahomes is the gold standard, the catalyst, the star-maker. The three-time Super Bowl MVP is the suffocating kind of great who lost the capacity to surprise any opponent with his talents half-a-decade ago but still manages to bewilder any time he steps on the field.
For a team like the Tennessee Titans, playing in the AFC in the shadow of Mahomes’ dominance can feel like a curse. No team can out-Mahomes the Chiefs. But while the blueprint for the Chiefs’ dynasty centers around Mahomes, it doesn’t end there.
Here are three lessons the Titans can learn from Kansas City, other than of “just have Mahomes.”
Don’t worry about making an offseason about one thing
After losing the Super Bowl to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers amid offensive line injuries and struggles, the Chiefs spent the 2021 offseason fortifying the front. They signed All-Pro guard Joe Thuney and drafted guard Trey Smith and Pro Bowl center Creed Humphrey, ensuring Mahomes wouldn’t need to worry about protection again.
After losing the AFC Championship game to quarterback Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals’ high-flying pass attack the next year, the Chiefs spent the 2022 offseason rebuilding their secondary. They signed safety Justin Reid and drafted five defensive backs, including All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie. In two seasons, the Chiefs went from No. 26 in yards allowed per pass play to No. 3.
Sometimes turning one weakness into a strength is more valuable than trying to plug leaks across the entire roster. Sure, it’s easier to do that when you already have a strong roster than when you’re at the beginning of a rebuild. But there’s clearly something to the idea of picking one concern and eliminating all doubt about it.
It’s time to reevaluate the offensive identity
Here are quick fact that illustrates to what degree the NFL has become a passing league: The NFL has put out a player-ranked list of the 100 best players in the league every offseason since 2011. There are 33 running backs who’ve ever ranked in the top 50. Only two went on to win a Super Bowl the season after earning that honor: Ray Rice in 2012 and Marshawn Lynch in 2013.
It’s been more than a decade since one of the NFL’s best running backs won a Super Bowl. No player who’s even finished in the top-five in rushing has won a Super Bowl that year since 2004. In the years the Chiefs won their three Super Bowls, their leading rusher has ranked No. 18, No. 25 and No. 39 in rush yards.
There’s obviously still a place in the league for running backs. Christian McCaffrey and the San Francisco 49ers were a blocked extra point away from rendering this trend obsolete Sunday. But as the Titans enter into a new era, their 25-year identity as a run-first team needs to be reevaluated, whether that means favoring more of a running-back-by-committee approach or deemphasizing the run entirely.
ESTES: The Tennessee Titans sure are trying hard to make you like Ran Carthon
Replace, but also rebuild
The Chiefs haven’t been immune to roster turnover as they’ve built their dynasty. Stars like Tyreek Hill, Tyrann Mathieu, Orlando Brown Jr., and Frank Clark have all moved on or been moved on from. And while there have been some instances where the Chiefs replaced a player with a comparable talent, like Mathieu for Reid, there are just as many instances where Kansas City used a departure to rethink their roster.
Instead of replacing Hill with another top-tier receiver, the Chiefs recast their offense as a more efficient, short- and intermediate-pass heavy attack. Instead of panicking about Mahomes’ blind side without Brown, the Chiefs signed a high-price right tackle instead and reconfigured the line to get more players in optimal positions. Without Clark’s consistency off the edge, the Chiefs went from blitzing on 24.2% of defensive snaps in 2022 to blitzing 32.9% of the time in 2023.
There’s no one way to win. The Chiefs seem less concerned with getting better “the Chiefs way” than they do with getting better by any means possible. The Chiefs don’t need to reinvent themselves, which makes the fact that they keep finding small ways to do just that even more inspiring.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee has approved funding for Summer EBT benefits that will put money directly on families’ grocery cards, but the program will not kick in until summer 2027.
This delay leaves families to find other resources for the upcoming summer.
The program will make way for eligible families to get $120 in federal funds per child to spend on groceries during summer months when kids lose access to school breakfast and lunch.
About 700,000 Tennessee children would qualify for the benefit.
Tennessee participated in 2024 but skipped the program for 2025 and 2026.
Advocates like Marissa Spady, senior manager at No Kid Hungry, say the program couldn’t be more critical.
“It’s very exciting to know that families will have the resources that they need to make sure that their children are able to head back to school in August with having the nutrition they need to be ready to learn,” Spady said.
The program allows families to use benefits at grocery stores and farmers markets they already shop at, bringing millions of federal dollars into Tennessee’s economy.
For families needing help this upcoming summer, you can check with your school district about summer meal sites and other resources.
To learn more about how this delay impacts local families and what resources are available now, watch the full video report above. Have questions or a story idea? Reach out to me directly at Eric.Pointer@NewsChannel5.com.
This story was reported by Eric Pointer and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Eric Pointer and our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Middle Tenn. gardeners: How to handle early spring, dry weather
It’s has been a dry spring for us. Nashville is over 6 inches below normal for rainfall for the year with Clarksville over a 9 inches deficit. Kim Rafferty went to a nursery to get a couple of tips that may be useful for you.
– Lelan Statom
Tennessee
Tennessee lawmakers react after shooter opens fire during White House Correspondents’ Dinner
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – President Donald Trump and other top leaders in the U.S. are unharmed after being evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner when a shooter opened fire at the hotel the event was being held.
The Associated Press reported that the incident happened outside the ballroom where the dinner was being held. The correspondents’ dinner was scrapped and will be rescheduled.
The FBI said the shooter is in custody.
During a press conference after the incident, President Trump said the suspect was armed with multiple weapons before being stopped.
Trump unharmed after security incident at White House correspondents’ dinner
Trump responds after shooter opened fired at correspondents’ dinner
Some Tennessee lawmakers have shared their reactions to the on social media.
Gov. Bill Lee:
Congressman Andy Ogles, who was at the dinner, posted a video to X saying he and his other colleagues were safe.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn:
Sen. Bill Hagerty:
U.S. Rep. Matt Van Epps:
The AP reported that the FBI Washington field office is investigating the shooting.
Copyright 2025 WSMV. All rights reserved.
At least Jermod McCoy didn’t have to wait long on Saturday, after a difficult fall over the first two days of the NFL Draft.
McCoy, a cornerback from Tennessee who missed all last season due to a knee injury, was the first pick of the fourth round to the Las Vegas Raiders. He was expected to go much sooner. Some thought he could go in the first round on Thursday. There were multiple concerns about his ACL injury and whether he’ll need more surgery, Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson reported.
Advertisement
Follow the NFL Draft live with breaking news, pick-by-pick grades, analysis
There will be a bit of a reunion as McCoy joins the Raiders. McCoy’s first college interception was against a quarterback from Cal named Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza moved on to Indiana, won a Heisman Trophy and was the first overall pick of the draft to the Raiders. McCoy and Mendoza get to be teammates in the NFL.
Jermod McCoy, who missed all last season after suffering a torn ACL, slid in the NFL Draft. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
(Jacob Kupferman via Getty Images)
If McCoy was healthy coming into this year’s NFL Draft, it seems like a foregone conclusion he would have been a first-round pick. He might have gone in the top 10. But in January of 2025, he tore his right ACL while working out. That forced him to miss the entire 2025 season, but he was still considered a potential first-round pick based on what he had shown already in college.
Advertisement
But NFL teams were clearly worried about his medical exams. McCoy didn’t get picked in the first round and he slid in the second round too. Cornerbacks Colton Hood, Avieon Terrell, D’Angelo Ponds and Brandon Cisse were taken in the second round with McCoy on the board. That’s when it was obvious teams were scared of the injury. McCoy probably would have gone ahead of all of those cornerbacks, and perhaps even the two first-round cornerbacks Mansoor Delane and Chris Johnson, if he never got hurt.
The third round came and went without McCoy being picked, leading to another night of wondering where he’d go. The Raiders took a chance on him to start the third day of the draft. If his knee holds up, it will be tremendous value.
-
Business4 minutes ago‘Michael’ moonwalks into a big box office debut
-
Entertainment10 minutes ago10 minutes backstage with Gavin Rossdale at Stagecoach
-
Lifestyle16 minutes agoSome of the best sound baths in L.A. are happening in mattress stores
-
Politics22 minutes agoWe were there: Hearing gunfire and ducking for cover at the D.C. dinner shooting
-
Science28 minutes agoCritics slam Trump’s purge of National Science Board: ‘Wholesale evisceration of American leadership in science’
-
Sports34 minutes agoAnze Kopitar’s stellar NHL career comes to an end in Kings’ playoff loss to Avalanche
-
World46 minutes agoIran’s Araghchi to meet Russia’s Putin; Israel kills 14 in Lebanon
-
News1 hour agoA chaotic White House Correspondents’ Dinner, as told by NPR reporters in the room