The Tennessee Titans ought to have by no means fired Mike Vrabel.
Positive, hindsight is at all times 20/20. However after firing head coach Brian Callahan after a 4-19 begin to his profession in Tennessee, the Titans don’t want any extra proof that letting Vrabel out of the constructing was a mistake.
Because the Titans regarded in direction of a rebuild, Vrabel was surprisingly fired in 2023 after having simply gained the NFL Coach of the 12 months award in 2021.
The Titans had been wanting in direction of life after quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Although the crew gained 12 video games in 2021, it was clear that Vrabel’s management and protection was carrying the Titans, not their growing older quarterback.
After Vrabel was fired, he spent final season with the Cleveland Browns as a training advisor. Nevertheless, as a result of Cleveland was so inept offensively, Vrabel needed to step in and function an offensive line coach for the again half of the season.
Upon that contract expiring in Cleveland, Vrabel immediately grew to become one of many hottest teaching candidates within the NFL. As soon as the Jerod Mayo experiment went bitter in New England, the Patriots rapidly scooped up Vrabel as their subsequent head coach.
And he’s been off to the races.
Vrabel’s signature win in New England was when the Patriots marched into Orchard Park and upset the Buffalo Payments in primetime a number of weeks in the past. Second-year quarterback Drake Maye has made strides so far, seeking to be the long-term reply after Mac Jones proved unable to fill the huge footwear left behind when Tom Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England’s success is proof that Vrabel was by no means the difficulty in Tennessee. He’s a natural-born chief of males. Whereas the Titans had been heading right into a rebuild, they may have caught beside their coach, supporting him with a quarterback that might compete with the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen within the AFC.
As an alternative, they fell sufferer to being prisoners of the moments. They fell in love with a youthful, sizzling shot offensive coordinator in Callahan who had Cincinnati’s offense buzzing for years.
In Callahan’s first 12 months as a head coach, the Titans had been the worst crew within the NFL. That earned them the No. 1 total decide and the rights to pick out Miami quarterback Cam Ward to show the franchise round.
However Ward has struggled within the first six video games. The Titans are 1-5. Shortly, the Titans realized that Callahan was unable to work the identical magic on Ward that he labored on Joe Burrow throughout their time along with the Bengals.
The Titans will host their previous coach, Vrabel, and the Patriots on Sunday at Nissan Stadium. However it’s Vrabel who already has the final snigger in opposition to his former crew earlier than the sport is even performed.
