Titans’ Mike Keith talks Draft with Old Hickory Rotary

May 26 will be Mike Keith’s 25^th anniversary working for the NFL franchise now known as the Tennessee Titans.

He was there when the then-Tennessee Oilers had just moved from Houston, were playing in Memphis’ Liberty Bowl, moved to Vanderbilt University’s stadium in Nashville before the Titans’ stadium had been built. And no one was coming to the games or sharing they cared about the team at all.

Which is a stark difference from the situation the organization is in now as Keith was in Jackson on Monday speaking to the Old Hickory Rotary Club less than 48 hours after the end of the NFL Draft.

“Back then we would’ve loved for people to be asking why we drafted this guy and not that guy,” Keith said. “We would’ve loved to have been second-guessed on our picks.

“Because when you have that, you have a fanbase that cares, and I’ll take that and hard questions in environments like this because that’s just part of it.”

The Titans’ front office was the topic of heated discussion among the fanbase over the weekend when they traded up in the second round and took former Kentucky quarterback Will Levis.

Many Titan fans who are also Tennessee fans expressed frustration on social media about the Titans taking Levis over former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker.

But Levis’ physical attributes and the way he conducted himself in one-on-one conversations made him a player the Titans were willing to pick to potentially lead their offense.

“Are there concerns over his decision-making on social media and in the spotlight? Yes,” Keith said. “But who all in this room can go back to when they were in college or 22-23 years old and raise their hand if they did nothing dumb back then? None of us. Or very few at the most.

“The coaching staff can work with that. Our front office can work with that. But based on my limited interactions with him so far and what I’m hearing from our coaches, we made a good pick for where we were in the Draft.”

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news