Jon Robinson (American football)

Last updated

Jon Robinson
Jon Robinson 2021 09-19.jpg
Robinson in 2021
Personal information
Born: (1976-01-18) January 18, 1976 (age 49)
Union City, Tennessee, U.S.
Career information
College: Southeast Missouri State
Career history
As a coach:
As a staff member / executive:
Executive profile at Pro Football Reference
Career highlights and awards

Jonathan Thomas Robinson (born January 18, 1976) is an American professional football executive. He was a longtime scout for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL) before being named director of player personnel for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2013. From 2016 to 2022, Robinson was the general manager and executive vice president of the Tennessee Titans.

Contents

College career

After high school, Robinson played football at the United States Air Force Academy for one season before transferring to Southeast Missouri State University where he played three seasons as a defensive lineman. [1] He graduated from Southeast Missouri State in 1998 and joined the school's football team as a graduate assistant for one season. In 1999, he joined Nicholls State University as a graduate assistant for two seasons before serving as linebackers coach in 2001. [2]

Professional career

New England Patriots

Robinson became an area scout for the New England Patriots from 2002, a position he held until 2006, when he was promoted to a regional scout. In 2008, he was promoted to the Patriots' assistant director of college scouting. The Patriots promoted Robinson to director of college scouting in 2009. Robinson left the Patriots in 2013 for a position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In 2013, Robinson took the position of director of player personnel for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. [3]

Tennessee Titans

Robinson with the Titans in 2021. Jon Robinson.jpg
Robinson with the Titans in 2021.

On January 14, 2016, Robinson was hired as the general manager of the Tennessee Titans. [4] He improved on the Titans 2015 record of 3–13 to 9–7 in 2016. They missed the playoffs after a Week 16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. [5]

On January 5, 2017, Robinson, while retaining his general manager position, was promoted to executive vice president. [6] In 2017, the Titans once again went 9–7, but made the playoffs for the first time since 2008. [7] They beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card, but fell to the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round. [8] [9]

In 2018, the Titans went 9–7 again, but missed the playoffs in a Week 17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. [10] [11]

In the 2019 offseason, Robinson signed Kevin Byard, who was one of Robinson's first draft picks in his first season with the Titans, to a record-breaking contract that made him the highest paid safety in the league at that point in time. [12] [13] Robinson also made a bold choice to trade for quarterback Ryan Tannehill, whose inconsistent play resulted in the Miami Dolphins' choice to move on. [14] Despite Robinson claiming Tannehill was brought in to be Marcus Mariota's backup, this was done in the final year of Mariota's contract with the Titans and entered the 2019 season with no extension. [15] After starting the season with a 2–4 record, head coach Mike Vrabel chose to bench Mariota and make Tannehill the starting quarterback for remainder of the season. The Titans finished the 2019 regular season with a 9–7 record for the fourth season in a row and made the playoffs. [16] After beating both the Patriots and Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card and Divisional Rounds, respectively, the Titans advanced to the AFC Championship for the first time since the 2002 season. [17] [18] The Chiefs would defeat the Titans with the final score being 35–24, ending the Titans' playoff run. [19]

Robinson's choice to trade wide receiver A. J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles on Day 1 of the 2022 NFL draft for a first-round pick (18th overall) and using that pick for Treylon Burks instead of working out a contract extension with Brown was highly criticized. [20] [21] In Week 13 of the 2022 season, the Titans lost to the Eagles by a score of 35–10 and Brown recording eight receptions for 119 yards and two touchdowns. [22] Two days after the loss, Robinson was fired by the Titans on December 6, 2022. [23]

Post-executive career

After being out of NFL for two years, Robinson interviewed for the general manager vacancy with the New York Jets in December 2024. [24] The Jets chose to hire a different candidate with him losing to Darren Mougey.

In February 2025, Robinson would interview for another general manager vacancy with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but would lose out to James Gladstone. [25]

Notes and references

  1. "Former Nicholls Assistant in Search of Third Super Bowl Ring with Patriots". Nicholls State University . February 2, 2008. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2008.
  2. "General News". The NCAA News. April 12, 1999. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2008.
  3. "Archived copy". Tampa Bay Buccaneers Official website. Archived from the original on January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Titans agree to terms with Jon Robinson as GM". Sportsnet. January 14, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  5. Long, Mark (December 25, 2016). "Titans sputter, lose Mariota, fall to inspired Jaguars 38-17". DailyHerald.com. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  6. Wyatt, Jim (January 5, 2017). "Jon Robinson Promoted to Executive Vice President and General Manager". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  7. Rexrode, Joe (December 31, 2017). "Titans earn first playoff bid since 2008 — and a new identity". Tennessean.com. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  8. Patra, Kevin (January 5, 2018). "Titans complete second-half comeback, stun Chiefs". NFL.com. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  9. "Divisional Round – Tennessee Titans at New England Patriots – January 13th, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference.com. January 18, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  10. Wyatt, Jim (December 31, 2018). "Titans Fall Short of Playoffs, Lose 33-17 to Colts in Season Finale". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  11. "Jon Robinson". TennesseeTitans.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  12. Bergman, Jeremy (July 24, 2019). "Kevin Byard, Titans agree to terms on five–year extension". NFL.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  13. Wyatt, Jim (July 24, 2019). "Titans Reach Multi-Year Deal With Safety Kevin Byard". Tennessee Titans. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  14. Wolfe, Cameron (March 15, 2019). "Dolphins trade quarterback Tannehill to Titans". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  15. Bacharach, Erik (March 15, 2019). "Titans' Jon Robinson: Ryan Tannehill not here to take Marcus Mariota's starting job". Tennessean.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  16. "Titans clinch playoff spot with 35-14 win over Texans". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 29, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  17. Wyatt, Jim (January 5, 2020). "Titans Knock Off Patriots 20-13, Advance to Face Ravens in Playoffs". TitansOnline.com. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  18. Wyatt, Jim (January 11, 2020). "Titans Beat Ravens 28-12, Advance to AFC Championship Game". TitansOnline.com. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  19. Wyatt, Jim (January 19, 2020). "Titans Come Up Short in 35-24 AFC Championship Game Loss to Chiefs". TitansOnline.com. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  20. Woodroof, Cory (July 28, 2025). "The Titans cutting Treylon Burks locks in the A.J. Brown trade as an all-time blunder". USAToday.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  21. Calderon, Shaun (December 7, 2022). "Jon Robinson's lack of patience with A.J. Brown proved costly". USAToday.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  22. Glennon, John (December 6, 2022). "Brown's Big Day was Last Straw for Robinson". SI.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  23. Davenport, Turron (December 6, 2022). "Titans fire GM Jon Robinson despite winning ways". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  24. Allen, Eric (December 17, 2024). "Jets Complete Interview With Jon Robinson for GM Spot". NewYorkJets.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  25. Burks, Serena (February 14, 2025). "Former Titans GM Jon Robinson interviews with Jaguars". USAToday.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.

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