The most surprising of this year’s head coach firings came out of Nashville. Although steady smoke about Mike Vrabel discontent emerged over the past several weeks, the Titans were connected to a trade — not an outright firing. But the organization took the latter route Tuesday morning. Vrabel is out after six seasons.
The Titans considered making a concerted effort to trade Vrabel’s rights elsewhere, as the Saints did with Sean Payton last year. But controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said the team did not want to risk a lengthy trade negotiation, during a search in which interested teams would also need to comply with the Rooney Rule, delaying the team from finding a suitable Vrabel replacement. This led to the firing, with Adams Strunk informing Vrabel today.
“Yes, we thought about it, but at the end of the day, with league rules the way they are, it would have maybe put us back three weeks,” Adams Strunk said during an appearance on 104.5 The Zone of a trade. “Honestly, to get the right head coach, I was not willing to go to the back of the line and take a chance of missing out on someone we really wanted.”
Rumors of a rift between Vrabel and first-year GM Ran Carthon had surfaced, and while Carthon attempted to shoot those down, Adams Strunk said the team wants “an aligned and collaborative team across all football functions.” Vrabel also may have sought more of a say in personnel, per SI.com’s Albert Breer. The Titans gave their veteran HC such input when they fired Jon Robinson in December 2022, but the team added Carthon and assistant GMs Chad Brinker and Anthony Robinson this offseason. Both Vrabel and Carthon reported to Adams Strunk. Tennessee’s ensuing moves provided a rebuilding outlook, something that might come to fruition this year.
Furthermore, Adams Strunk did not choose the GM candidate Vrabel wanted last year. Vrabel is believed to have preferred the team to elevate interim GM Ryan Cowden to the full-time role, according to the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin. Vrabel and Cowden shared responsibility to close out last season, following the surprising Jon Robinson ouster. Vrabel and Robinson had signed extensions in February 2022; Robinson’s went through 2027, Vrabel’s through ’25. Cowden ended up with the Giants this past offseason.
Not in the meeting when Adams Strunk fired Vrabel, Carthon will lead the Titans’ HC search, the Athletic’s Dianna Russini tweets. The ex-49ers exec said others will be part of it. Tennessee’s assistant coaches will be retained until a new coach arrives.
While Carthon said a Will Levis-centered approach will not drive the search, the young GM did point out (via TitanInsider.com’s Terry McCormick) the team will seek a head coach willing to work with the 2023 second-round pick. Ryan Tannehill is a free agent in March and appears likely to join Derrick Henry in leaving. Although Henry being handed a microphone to thank Titans fans after the season sends a pretty clear signal he intends to move on after eight seasons, Carthon said the door is not closed on a third Henry contract.
Adams Strunk has now fired both the pillars who helmed the Titans to three playoff berths from 2019-21, with Robinson also in place for the team’s 2017 sojourn to the divisional round. She has developed a reputation as impulsive, Breer adds. With the Titans coming off back-to-back losing seasons, the second-generation owner will assemble a new power structure. She did not confirm who would report to whom just yet.
Regarding the obvious Vrabel fit, the Patriots should be considered likely to express interest. Bill Belichick has been connected to every non-Titans HC opening, and while not all of the teams with vacancies may ultimately be interested, it does seem some interest would be out there. The Patriots’ goal could soon be to hire Vrabel, who is now available without draft picks changing hands, and trade Belichick. That would leave Jerod Mayo, who held the inside track on being Belichick’s heir apparent when Robert Kraft stepped in and authorized an extension last year, on the outside looking in. But Vrabel — a Patriots mainstay from 2001-08 — has been connected to the Patriots for months, being viewed as a “home run hire.”
Helping to smooth out this process: Belichick and Vrabel share an agent, Volin adds. Belichick is aiming to stay on in New England for at least one more season, and he sounds willing to adjust the personnel aspect of his job. One season remains on Belichick’s contract. It still sounds more likely than not the legendary HC will be elsewhere next season, and the separation process is expected to take some time. Vrabel being unattached, however, could conceivably expedite these proceedings.
Why is it that the most clueless, unqualified people get to own NFL teams?
Are you being serious?
uh oh, a woman is involved in crucial decisions . no wonder the Titans are a mess.
I’m not saying that I think that she or Vrabel or Carthon are the cause of Tennessee’s instability, but the idea that Strunk simply can’t objectively be bad decision maker because she is a woman is ridiculous. Nobody mentioned that in this discussion, so this protest is unwarranted and just diverts attention from the subject.
I include a lot of men in my comment. Mark Davis is at the top of the list.
This is a classic example of blaming the person who is the biggest asset for the team’s problems.
AKA Tomlinism.
Now that they have removed Vrabel from the equation the Titans have to be aiming for either Ben Johnson or Harbough. I cannot imagine there is a 3rd option that has a higher upside than Mike Vrabel. The fact that they let him go means they are willing to spend a fortune to replace him and they will have to offer more money than anyone else to secure that guy. If they are not willing to give out the biggest HC contract this off-season then they are going to screw themselves over.
Dan Quinn is the only other guy who would be an acceptable HC replacement for Vrabel, but I personally would rather still have Vrabel.
Insecure owner demands complete yes-man obedience from her employees.
This is the beginning of an extended dark period in Titans history.
If true, that 100% guarantees Harbaugh won’t be going there.
She’s a clown show of an owner. She oks the trade of their biggest asset, A.J. Brown, to Philadelphia, because she doesn’t wanna pay him, and then fires Robinson mid season when the guy plays great for Philly. She’s a joke.
Vrabel and his agent orchestrated his move out of tennessee. He wants the pats job
yeah without even knowing if the Pats job is even available, makes perfect sense.
This seems sort of…sudden, doesn’t it? Has Vrabel done a job worthy of firing?
It seems that Robinson assumed that he and Vrabel would be poised to build a long term successful franchise following their extensions, but that didn’t happen. Cowden assumed that he had the job in the bag following Robinson’s sudden firing last year, and obviously that didn’t happen. It seemed that Vrabel thought that he had a GM who would serve his interests when Carthon was hired. It seems that that didn’t happen.
We are not privvy to the reasons for the personnel shifts, and we don’t know how much of this is speculation and how much is true. From the outside, though, it seems that Strunk may have earned her impulsive reputation, or that Tennessee is a place where staff can levy personal meetings with the owner into workplace personnel decisions-and it appears that the complainants themselves aren’t safe from the same, later. I am not saying that I necessarily believe this, because this is mostly speculative and second hand information, but the rumors of individuals having contentious relationships and then the owner acting on those does raise a few questions. It may not be true, of course.
The one thing that I can say for certain is that it is unusual for Vrabel to be fired. It seemed like the team picked him over Robinson, and now he too is gone. This season notwithstanding, the Titans haven’t been bad. Firing Robinson indicated that the team blamed for not providing an adequate roster, but then Vrabel was fired before that roster was ever restocked. Another question is the Levis quote-Carthon is not committed to him? Isn’t Carthon the one who picked Levis in the first place? If you thought that the roster was bad enough to fire your last GM, then why would you ignore the state of the roster when evaluating your new QB? If the roster was as bad as you thought, why would you blame him for that? And, if it’s not the roster that’s bad, and you’re not committed to your QB, then it’s your quarterback who’s bad. That seems like it’s Carthon’s fault for the pick. I don’t understand where Strunk expects the Titans to go, but we’ll see if Carthon can turn it in a positive direction.
Well said, and well thought out.
“Has Vrabel done a job worthy of firing?”
My personal opinion is he’s too conservative for today’s NFL and a defensive minded coach. Arthur Smith was his OC, look how that turned out in Atlanta. I don’t think Vrabel did a bad job, but is he really the coach you’d want on a rebuild with a rookie QB, new RB, and aging WR? The days of Tannehill play action to Henry are gone.
Well said
Vrabel is head coach, not offensive coordinator. Vrabel seems to be willing to do what it takes to win, despite this year’s weak season (QB transition, fading Henry, missing pieces). Vrabel is in his prime. This is an all-time classic firing, like the early Belichick firing by the Browns.
Strunk is like a monkey with a machine gun.
A slightly above .500 coach in a dumpster fire division is a homerun hire? Let’s you know when friendships are involved in reporting on these people.
Belichick was sub .500 — with one winning season — in five years with the Browns.
Yeah, bring up a different era when you had to build through the draft to make a point. If you think Vrabel is a level coach as Belichick who still is one of the best defensive coordinators the league has ever seen in his Old Yeller phase, I want what you’re smoking. Again, Vrabel was in a division with the leagues two certified dumpster fires, Jacksonville and Houston, most of his tenure, and he’s ten games over .500. Titan lines were stacked the first few years of that tenure. He had one great season, and otherwise, he was Mike Mularkey record wise. Sounds real special.
Its tough to win games without above avg QB play. Tannehill was not that.
Are you on drugs…. Building through the draft is the only way to a Superbowl.
Vrabel is a great coach but far too stubborn to succeed as a team builder. Would never even consider outside hires for his staff and that led to the same offensive and defensive concerns every year. No, the roster was never perfect either, but the Titans desperately needed a more innovative OC more than once over the past 3 or 4 years.
What makes him great? I’m still trying to figure this out. His offensive coordinator hires were abysmal. He’s not a great hands on defensive coach himself even past the CEO role. People just throwing that word around.
He gets his guys to play hard for him. There is no disputing that. He is also excellent in every situational aspect of the game. If you actually read my comment, I said that he was never able to drop his ego and hire good coordinators from outside the team.
“I was not willing to go to the back of the line and take a chance of missing out on someone we really wanted.”
Hey Amy!… the only way you end up at the “back of the line” is if you’re too cheap to match the other offers your preferred HC candidate is getting.
I got her point and what she was trying to say… but you’re right. It’s irrelevant whether or not they get a late start if they’re going to likely get outbid for the best candidates anyways.
I love Vrabel as much as anyone, but Cowden? He’s a disciple of J-Rob, the guy who literally made the worst trade of the past 10 years. Vrabel always liked to promote from within, and I don’t think ownership wants to take that route anymore. My guess is Bobby slowik due to the 49er connection with carthon
Robinson has a better record with Tennessee than any other GM or coach, win percentage wise. So, there is that to consider.
Sounds like Carthon threw Vrabel under the bus.
I bet OF Belicheck Leaves NE, Vrabel will be a heavy favorite for that job.
OnlyFans Belichick?
*shudder*
From Cutoff Sleeves to Cutoff Jeans: The Bill Belichick Story
Vrabel, like Payton before him, isn’t worth draft capital to begin with. He’s really not a game changing coach, and definitely not fit for a rebuild.
I don’t understand this recent trend of trading (or at least speculating on) head coaches. I think if organizations are really willing to do the hard work, they can find that next great coach instead of being starry-eyed by the “sexy” hire. Look for philosophy, fit, personality, and things like that instead of “Wow! I gotta get Payton!” kind of things. But that thinking is usually indicative of lazy management and why I think a lot of teams fail and stumble along for years and years.
Don’t think it’s impulsive to have fired Robinson after trading A.J.Brown for Treylon Burks and hanging on to Tannehill long after his expiration date. Vrabel forced his own ouster based on the situation and future outlook. This is just good business. If you want impulsive you can look at Tepper and the Panthers or a half dozen other GM/Coach/Owner situations.
Wonder if Carthon had input on this firing. Might be he holds negative emotions because NE, and Mike, whooped his team regular when he played.
I’m just seeing 2 strong-willed guys who didn’t always see eye-to-eye in Carthon and Vrabel. They just didn’t click. And since Carthon just got hired… so I don’t hint that Carthon had input, but he probably did indirectly influence things.