NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ruston Webster is out as the Titans' general manager, but the football structure of the Titans with a traditional GM-coach division of power is staying in place.

That's what CEO and president Steve Underwood said at a Monday afternoon news conference.

Underwood accepted the full-time post after serving as interim in those two roles since last March.

The Titans have a list of 14 general manager finalists and fewer than 10 head-coaching candidates after paring down gigantic lists. One coaching candidate is known -- interim coach Mike Mularkey.

During Webster's four-year tenure, the Titans touted his ability to work with anyone. That’s an admirable trait he had to put to use with three different heads of ownership, three different head coaches and two different schemes.

But it’s not the most important trait.

I think it’s important that a GM and coach come in together, work on the same clock and are reliant on each other for success. One will come in first, but in a traditional split of power he wouldn’t necessarily rank as the more powerful.

The GM should have final say over who’s brought in; the coach should determine who plays. The 53-man roster should be collectively determined. Ideally, decisions would all be agreed to and be owned by both, which minimizes any chance of finger-pointing on things that go wrong.

Sometimes, the coach should say, "That's not so important to me, we'll go with your feeling on that," to the GM, and vice versa.

Things will go wrong. They do for everyone in a business where the draft and free agency are imperfect sciences and coaches working to build a culture and rebuild success need patience.

The new GM doesn’t need to be able to work with anybody, like Webster was. He just needs to be able to work with the new coach.

Finding the right pairing is crucial.