John Glennon

jglennon@tennessean.com

A few days ago, the Titans began an overhaul inside Nissan Stadium, ripping out tens of thousands of seats and replacing them with more colorful, comfortable models.

The $15 million remodeling coincides with what most consider a more important internal reconstruction of the franchise.

The Titans have started building a new and more visible public image of controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk, who previously appeared to fans only through the lenses of cameras that recorded her strolling the sidelines before games.

The lack of connection didn’t sit well with some community civic leaders and supporters of the struggling team, many of whom feel no association with an out-of-town owner — Adams Strunk resides in Houston.

"It kind of made you wonder," said Nashville's Stan Bryant, who holds six Titans season tickets. "It seemed like they were going incognito for a while, kind of a stealth operation."

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But the Titans want to change that.

Just last week, Adams Strunk appeared in a 10-minute, Titans-produced video, offering her thoughts on a number of topics, including the franchise’s recent process of hiring a new general manager and head coach.

The next step comes Thursday, when Adams Strunk will meet with Titans season ticket-holders for the first time. Strunk, president Steve Underwood, general manager Jon Robinson and coach Mike Mularkey will field questions from fans during lunch and dinner events at Music City Center.

“I’d say it’s certainly a good first step as far as Amy becoming more public, and I think that’s what has been really needed — for her to take a higher profile and be more visible,” said Jeff Diamond, who was Titans president from 1999-2004 and is now a sports consultant and 560-AM radio host. “I think fans want to see their owner. I think they want to hear from their owner. So I think this is a move in the right direction.”

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Bryant agrees, saying he's looking forward to hearing from Adams-Strunk when he attends the luncheon with his wife. If he gets a chance to pose a question to Adams-Strunk, he has one in mind.

“I might ask her if she and her family are truly invested in (the franchise) and have the desire to see it flourish, or are they just taking the position that they’d hate to turn loose of it, having inherited it from (Bud) Adams,” Bryant said. “I’d be curious to get their feel if they really have a true interest in it, or is it just more of an asset that they don’t want to lose.”

It’s been a rough stretch for the Titans, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2008. They have just one winning season since then.

That lack of success — which includes a total of five wins over the last two seasons — could go a long way toward explaining some fans’ desires for a more public message from Adams Strunk, and also with the Titans’ new plan to provide it.

“I don’t think it’s any coincidence that all these questions about ownership have come at the same time as the team has tanked in the standings,” said Mark Ratchford, an assistant professor of marketing at Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management. “I think in terms of trying to help repair the franchise’s brand, she’s doing the right things. The video is a good idea and so is meeting with the season ticket-holders.

"But ultimately, I think peoples’ decisions on ownership will be based on the won-loss record. Until they start seeing some wins, it doesn’t surprise me that these questions sort of abound about ownership.”

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Diamond feels a message from ownership is important regardless of record.

“They want to have a face to the franchise at the very top," he said. "To communicate your vision in person is really valuable.”

Adams Strunk has been the team’s controlling owner only for a year. During that time, the Titans have not responded to The Tennessean’s requests for an interview with Strunk.

She took over from her sister, Susie Adams Smith, who initially held the controlling owner position following the death of their father, franchise founder and owner Bud Adams, in 2013. Adams Strunk and Adams Smith each own 33 percent of the team. Three other members of the Adams family — Bud Adams' grandsons, Kenneth IV and Barclay Cunningham Adams, as well as their mother, Susan Lewis — each own 11 percent.

All of the heirs have chosen to remain in Houston — headquarters of the family's gas/oil, farming and ranching businesses — with the exception of Adams IV, who lives in Nashville and serves as the Titans' director of public and charitable affairs.

“I could be wrong, but maybe that’s just the visual that gets created,” Ratchford said. “The heirs get the team, and they’re oil and gas people that live in Texas. That can be a tough sell for season ticket-holders here, so it’s probably a good idea to address that.”

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Adams Strunk was a consistent presence last season, attending every home and away game. But she kept a low public profile, declining all interview requests — even after making big moves including firing coach Ken Whisenhunt, choosing not to renew general manager Ruston Webster’s contract, and naming the replacements for both men.

The team-sponsored video about Adams Strunk that was posted on the Titans’ website last week didn’t provide fans with answers to questions asked by anyone outside of the organization. But it did provide a glimpse into her personality and background.

It was the first step in the process of crafting a different image — one that will continue Thursday.

“I always liked Amy and I felt she was a very warm person,” said Diamond, who got to know her when he was the team president. “I felt she was someone that would really kind of communicate well to the public, and I think she did that on the video.

“But a video is too rehearsed. She needs to be more available, more open. I think that would bode well for the franchise.”

Reach John Glennon at 615-259-8262 and on Twitter @glennonsports.

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