Community excited to see Union City native lead Titans

UNION CITY, Tenn. — An opportunity of a lifetime brought Union City’s Jon Robinson back home.

“Exciting, overwhelming, emotional,” Jon’s younger sister, Allison Palmer said. “All of those things you could imagine.”

Palmer was in her fifth grade classroom in Union City when she found out her big brother would be the next general manager of the Tennessee Titans.

“Our goal here is to win bottom line,” Robinson said at his introductory press conference.

“Knowing his work ethic and how he’s driven, I had no doubt in the mind,” Allison said.

Even in high school, teachers say Robinson’s size and smarts set him apart.

“Personally being his first coach down in middle school, I knew he was always big” Jon’s former coach Mack Moore said. “We couldn’t find anyone to play us because we had so many guys that were big.”

Robinson, known as “rhino” on the field, only got bigger and better in high school. He eventually worked his way into administration and management for NFL teams like the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He’s exceeding his coach’s expectations again.

“Thought he had a good shot with that New England pedigree, but I didn’t think it would actually happen,” Moore said.

Allison, however, never had a doubt.

“I didn’t know when it would come, when it could happen,” Palmer continued,”I knew he would have it one day.”

Robinson already has two Super Bowl rings from his time with the Patriots.

Tennessee owns the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft.