Titans owner says team not for sale

Tennessee Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk wrapped up her first public appearance with Tennessee fans by making it very clear to them that the team her father founded in 1960 is staying in the family.

“The team is not for sale,” Strunk said.

With that, Strunk ended a five-minute conversation with team broadcaster Mike Keith before approximately 3,000 season- ticket holders at a lunch in Nashville, Tenn., that was part sales pitch and part outreach from the Titans. This also was the first chance for fans to hear directly from the woman who took over as controlling owner last March.

Strunk told fans that she wanted to get answers first to avoid making promises she couldn’t keep but believes the franchise is headed in the right direction with a new general manager, coach and the No. 1 draft pick in April.

She also tried to dispel concerns that she and the family of the late Bud Adams are not committed to the franchise. If anyone doubted the commitment, she said, they should look no further than Nov. 3, when she fired coach Ken Whisenhunt with three seasons left on his contract.

“I mean, that was some serious money to move Ken away,” said Strunk, who lives in the Houston area. “I just thought the changes needed to happen. But we’re going to continue to make changes and continue to commit to whatever will make us a winning team.”

Strunk missed an NFL owners meeting on relocation in January, taking part in the team’s search for a new general manager. She chose to hire Jon Robinson on Jan. 14 and then decided to keep Mike Mularkey as head coach Jan. 16. In other news: • Carolina Panthers defensive end Jared Allen announced his retirement from football on Twitter in unique fashion — from atop a horse. Allen, who often refers to himself as a cowboy after being raised on a ranch, thanked everyone in a short video before saying, “I was going to ride off into the sunset, but seeing there is no sunset, I’m just going to ride off.” He then turned the horse and galloped away into the dark night with snow on the ground. Allen, a four-time All-Pro, played 12 seasons in the NFL and finished with 136 career sacks. He led the league in sacks in 2007 and 2011.