It has been a "challenging several weeks" for Titans President & CEO Steve Underwood, as he has hired a new GM and coach while having to "deal with the seemingly never-ending swirl of rumors" that the team will be sold, according to John Glennon of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. Underwood said the NFL "has never once indicated to us that they are attempting to force the sale." Underwood: "I’ve never heard those words used. I think they’re continuing to work with us on trying to resolve the ownership issues, and in the meantime, none of those things are affecting the operation of the club. ... lining up buyers is one thing, but there has to be something for them to buy. That isn’t the case here." Since Bud Adams' death in '13, Underwood said, "Sometimes the resolution of difficult problems can take a long time. I would think that at one point, the fiction writers about the sale of our team would grow tired of saying it's going to happen and it never happening. In fact, I believe one of them at one time guaranteed it was going to be sold last year. I think the people who read him need to write for their money back because it hasn’t happened." He said questions about the ownership status "don’t have anything to do with the business we conduct here, trying to put a winning product on the football field and run our football team from day to day." Underwood said controlling Owner Amy Adams Strunk "has made it abundantly clear that nothing about our ownership is going to change." Underwood: "I’m not sure how many different ways I can say that. They’re not selling. The team is not for sale. I’ve never seen a credible source cited -- a name -- that says the team is for sale. ... So from my perspective, I look at it and say, 'Who would plant those kinds of stories that are false and erroneous?' The leading contenders have to be people who want to buy an NFL team. But they need to look elsewhere. This team is not for sale" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 1/24).
