Ben Arthur
AFC South Reporter
There’s a cloud hanging over the Titans. It’s undeniable. It lingered at locker cleanout on Monday:
Is Mike Vrabel going to be back as coach?
Speculation has been rampant. Reports have swirled that his status is unsettled. That his standing is very much up in the air. That unspecified meetings between Vrabel, general manager Ran Carthon and team ownership are set to take place. The thought that Vrabel gets traded (quite possibly to the Patriots — where he won three Super Bowls as a player — considering New England might part ways with Bill Belichick) is in the ether as well.
Rookie quarterback Will Levis confirmed the legitimacy of the uncertainty, telling reporters that he spoke with Vrabel and that the coach will communicate with the team “as soon as he knows” about next year. He added that Vrabel wants to be in Nashville.
If the result of whatever needs to take place is Vrabel leaving the Titans, it would be a major loss to Tennessee — one that could set the team back years.
Vrabel, hired in 2018, has elevated the standard of a franchise that not too long ago was one of the laughingstocks of the league. He led the Titans to their first AFC Championship Game in 17 years in 2019. He guided them to three straight playoff berths from 2019-21, including back-to-back AFC South titles.
His ability to get the most out of his players makes him one of the better coaches in the league. The Titans were ravaged by injuries in 2021 — they used 91 players, a non-strike season NFL record — and still won 12 games en route to the AFC’s No. 1 overall seed. That’s because of Vrabel, who was named AP Coach of the Year that season.
The last season and a half has been rough for Tennessee. The team, which has now missed the playoffs in back-to-back years, is 6-18 since Thanksgiving of 2022. But it’s impossible to ignore the personnel misses in the draft, free agency and via trade that…
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Publish date : 2024-01-08 23:56:44
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