First, let’s get to the retirement. In a statement, Underwood discussed the difficulty of stepping down from the role that he’s held since 2015. “When I am asked what’s the most important thing that I’ll remember from the time I’ve spent in the National Football League, it will be all the great people that I have gotten to work with,” he said. “Stepping away from something you love is never easy. But sooner or later, even something this good has to come to an end.”
Now, that’s all well and good, but Underwood’s facial hair definitely stole the spotlight—at least for some people online. Even if you’re not concerned with football, his mouth-consuming combination of mustache and goatee can’t be ignored, as CBS’ Pick Six podcast pointed out on Twitter. You can see it below, but to clarify: This isn’t a photoshop job or some sort of camera glitch—this is really his facial hair.
People did start playing around with Underwood’s epic facial hair once it made the rounds, and began photoshopping it on different people. Fantasy sports and betting site Draftkings honored Underwood by putting his facial hair on various Titans players, including QB Ryan Tannehill, running back Derrick Henry and wide receiver A.J. Brown. Podcast host Bailey Carlin put Underwood’s facial hair over the Batman villain Bane, as a very effective replacement for his normal mask.
Speaking of masks: Naturally, with people required to wear masks due to the coronavirus pandemic, some Twitter users couldn’t help but notice that his facial hair bears a resemblance to a safety mask. CBS Sports host Chris Hassel remarked that it looks like an N95 mask, and journalist Bilge Ebiri wrote that it looks like he doesn’t need to worry about wearing a mask outside.
Many people simply wondered how—and why—Underwood sculpted his facial hair this way. One person said that the ‘stache is going to serve as inspiration for his own grooming decisions in quarantine. Another user pointed out that the facial hair could be a fire-hazard if Underwood is a smoker.
But back to business: Underwood will be succeeded by Titans Senior Vice President/Business Operations & Chief Legal Officer Burke Nihill, who doesn’t appear to have any sort of startling facial hair, in case you were wondering. According to the Houston Chronicle, Underwood’s retirement comes after 40 years working with the organization. Despite stepping down as president, he will serve as a special advisor to owner Amy Adams Strunk. Underwood had originally retired from his senior executive vice president and general counsel position in 2011, but returned in 2015 as the Titans’ president and CEO.
