By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — Any questions regarding whether there would be major changes within the Titans organization were definitely answered Tuesday morning. Mike Vrabel was fired by the Tennessee Titans after a second straight losing season. This came despite the fact Vrabel had publicly expressed a desire to remain with the team at least through the end of next season, which was when his contract ended. But instead, he is out following a 6-11 year that ended with a 28-20 victory over Jacksonville at home Sunday. That win eliminated the Jaguars from the playoffs, and there were those who thought it might be enough to salvage his job.
But there had been persistent stories in national media outlets about a power struggle and/or discord between Vrabel and first-year general manager Ran Carthon over who exactly was in charge of key decisions, as well as just general philosophy regarding team operation and policy. No one from the Titans ever addressed those stories, at least not on the record, but with Vrabel’s departure, Carthon gets the chance to be part of the selection process for the new coach, if not totally in charge of it.
Vrabel had been head coach since 2018. He had a strong start, enjoying four straight winning seasons. Things peaked in 2021, as the Titans went 12-5, got the top seed in the AFC and Vrabel was named Coach of the Year. Then the the Titans lost their playoff opener to Cincinnati, and things began falling apart, though the Titans started 7-3 in 2022. But then came a disastrous seven-game losing streak, including a season finale loss to Jacksonville that eliminated the Titans from playoff consideration. This season never ever got going. The Titans had trouble scoring offensive touchdowns on the road, and encountered massive offensive line problems with both veteran QB Ryan Tannehill and rookie Will Levis injured at various time behind a group that surrendered over 60 sacks. The secondary was also woeful, and the special teams coach was fired following a game when two mistakes on punts plus a missed extra point cost the Titans another game they should have won.
Vrabel has been rumored as the choice of the Patriots to replace their longtime head coach Bill Belichick if he and the Patriots part ways as expected. Vrabel was on a pair of Super Bowl winning Patriots teams, and earlier this season was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame. He departs with an overall positive record of 54-45 in the regular season. The Titans reached the playoffs three straight times and won two AFC South titles under Vrabel. They reached the AFC title game in 2019, losing to Kansas City. But the team’s 6-18 mark over the last 24 games proved his undoing. Vrabel ends his run as the team’s third winningest coach behind Jeff Fisher and Bum Phillips.
Titans’ owner Amy Adams Strunk issued a statement later Tuesday afternoon about the firing. .”As the NFL continues to innovate and evolve, I believe the teams best positioned for sustained success will be those who empower an aligned and collaborative team across all football functions,” Strunk said in the statement. “Last year, we began a shift in our approach to football leadership and made several changes to our personnel to advance that plan. As I continued to assess the state of our team, I arrived at the conclusion that the team would also benefit from the fresh approach and perspective of a new coaching staff.”
That’s far from the only change expected on the Titans. The contracts of both QB Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry have run out, and it’s almost a sure thing Tannehill is gone. Henry’s status is less clear, but given the general de-valuation of running backs across the league and his expressed desire last season to get a new deal he felt indicated his value, his return is at minimum questionable. Plus there’s no doubt a new head coach will want to hire most, if not all, of their staff, so there will probably be lots of coaching vacancies over the next few weeks.
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