RADIO
There were many NFL coaches that football fans knew were going to get pink-slipped as soon as the regular season was over. Mike Vrabel was not one of them.
Vrabel was surprisingly sacked on Tuesday afternoon after spending six seasons as the Tennessee Titans’ main man. He led the Titans to four straight winning seasons and three playoff appearances between 2018 and 2021, riding a run-heavy offense led by workhorse Derrick Henry and an underrated smashmouth defense that kept his teams close in games when the offense was not putting up tons of points.
But the past two seasons did not go as smoothly for Vrabel and his Titans team. So why did they fire someone who many thought was one of the best coaches in the NFL? Here are the reasons:
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Why Did Tennessee Fire Mike Vrabel?
Tennessee fired Vrabel after back-to-back losing seasons when the Titans were in one of the most winnable divisions in the NFL. The upstart Houston Texans won the AFC South this season with a 10-7 record, while the Jacksonville Jaguars only needed a 9-8 mark to be crowned division winner in 2022. Meanwhile, the Titans went 13-21 under Vrabel over those two years. Too many thought it was too quick to give Vrabel the hook as he had only one season to have franchise quarterback Will Levis in the fold. The Titans’ ownership did not agree.
The Titans offense was putrid this season and seemingly not the same once former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith took his talents to Atlanta to be the head coach there (although he too was fired this week). Tennessee ranked 28th in total offense and 27th in scoring offense this year, and an average-at-best defense (18th in total defense) could not bail the low-scoring unit out enough to win enough games for Vrabel to keep his job.
Vrabel did not do much for fantasy football managers, that’s for sure. He enjoyed conservative offenses that did no fantasy favors for quarterbacks, receivers, and tight ends on his squads. Thank goodness the Titans inked DeAndre Hopkins to a deal in the offseason. He had 1,057 receiving yards with the run-first team this season. No other Titans pass catcher broke the 600-yard mark.
The fact is that the playmakers on the Titans are getting older, and not better. Henry may have rushed for 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns, but his 4.2 yards per carry was the worst of his career and his yards per game was the lowest since 2018. Hopkins is on the wrong side of 30 and a step slower.
Meanwhile, none of Tennessee's youngsters made big plays on a weekly basis and were woefully inconsistent. While this should not fall solely on Vrabel's lap, he should share some of the blame. And considering Vrabel is a defensive coach, the Titans defense is lacking star power on that side of the ball. Blame Vrabel for not coaching them up better, but more blame could be placed on general manager Ran Carthon for not upgrading the roster last offseason.
Tennessee could have opted to trade Vrabel for draft capital since he was still under contract, but the organization decided against it due to the time it would have taken to consummate such a rare trade. The Titans will probably spearhead a search for an up-and-coming coordinator they can turn into a head coach in the coming weeks. This appears to be a situation where Carthon would like to pick his own head coach rather than ride with the one who preceded him.
Do not feel too sorry for Vrabel. He will have more teams knocking at his door this offseason than many prized free-agent players. He could take over for old mentor Bill Belichick in New England or be a top contender to become head coach with the Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks, or other teams with a vacancy. Vrabel will be a head coach again in the NFL within the next two years, no doubt. The Titans did him a favor canning him so he did not have to spend another season with a rebuilding team with aging stars and underwhelming youngsters on offense.
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