The Kansas City Chiefs finished the regular season setting a new franchise record with 15 wins. After winning their ninth consecutive AFC West title, they clinched the No. 1 seed, securing a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the playoffs.

The Chiefs kick off their postseason journey against the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday, January 18. The extra week of rest paid off for the Chiefs, as every player on the active roster is ready to suit up in the AFC divisional round.

While Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Co. prepare to defeat the Texans, one day before kickoff, the team’s front office received confirmation that assistant general manager Mike Borgonzi is exiting.

Multiple sources reported on Friday, January 17 that the Tennessee Titans plan to hire Borgonzi as their new general manager, which sparked a strong reaction from Chiefs Kingdom. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Borgonzi and the Titans “reached agreement on a five-year contract,” which keeps him in Tennessee through the 2029 season.

Chiefs Digest’s Matt Derrick posted, “Mike Borgonzi has been an ace in the hole for GM Brett Veach in Kansas City. Much deserving of the opportunity with the Titans and a significant loss for the Chiefs.” AtoZ Sports’ Charles Goldman agreed. “Big loss for the Chiefs, but well deserved for Borgonzi,” he posted.

GettyChiefs general manager Brett Veach at the NFL Scouting Combine on February 27, 2024.

Borgonzi, who started out as the Chiefs college scouting administrator in 2009, worked his way up the ranks before becoming general manager Brett Veach’s assistant in 2021.

“In his current capacity,” Borgonzi’s job profile description reads, he “supervises and directs the club’s college and professional scouting operations while closely supporting and advising General Manager Brett Veach with the club’s roster management and player acquisition via the NFL Draft, NFL free agency, street free agency, waiver claims and trades.”

Borgonzi played a key role in helping build the team’s roster, which has won three Super Bowl championships over the past five years. After news of his departure broke, Veach texted NFL insider Albert Breer that he was losing “his right-hand man.”

“Long-time coming—one of the hardest-working guys in the business,” Veach wrote. “Tennessee made the right choice.”

While the Chiefs look to make NFL history by winning a Super Bowl three-peat this season, Borgonzi will move on to a franchise looking to rebuild. After the Titans finished the season with a 3-14 record, Borgonzi will work with head coach Brian Callahan to select the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

Borgonzi replaces Ran Carthon, whom the Titans fired earlier this month. Titans president of football operations, Chad Brinker, issued a statement on what they were looking for in a new GM:

It is someone who wakes up every single day and the only thing they think about is building a roster, evaluating players, watching tape, working with the coaching staff. And, not just someone who knows how to collect talent, but someone who really understands how to build a team and how all the pieces fit together that I can work with not only in the short term, winning today, but building for the future, the long term, and understanding how all those pieces fit together. If you make a decision here, how it impacts a decision down the road, and really understand the full puzzle.