Tennessee Titans Eyeing Another Former Patriot for Head Coach
By Erik Lambert
When the Tennessee Titans made the late move to part ways with head coach Mike Mularkey, their next move seemed like the obvious one.
New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was still available. His play calling prowess has been well-documented for the past decade as Tom Brady continued his ascent to arguably the greatest ever. Getting a chance to pair an offensive mind like that with Marcus Mariota felt like a no brainer. However those dreams didn’t last long as it was announced McDaniels would accept the head coaching job in Indianapolis.
With that avenue closed before it had barely opened up, the Titans are now left with a search for other alternatives. Since Jon Robinson is the GM, it stands to reason he’s going to stick close to his Patriots connections just like colleague Bob Quinn did in Detroit. Except New England only has two coordinators. So if Robinson wants his own guy, he’ll have to work his way a little further down the tree. According to Albert Breer of the MMQB, they seem to have somebody in mind.
"“Now the Titans will look to find alignment, and the first man they requested to interview, Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel, is seen as a better match for the team’s brass than McDaniels from a personality standpoint. Also, he and Robinson have common background in that each spent many years in New England. Vrabel will have to sell Tennessee on his staffing choices and his vision for developing Mariota, but word of how well Vrabel interviewed in Detroit and Indianapolis has gotten around. Robinson laid out criteria for the job during his press conference on Monday, and the first thing he said he was looking for was a “leader of men.”"
Mike Vrabel has makings of a head coach but is he ready?
Vrabel isn’t really a secret at this point. The head coaching buzz with him began a couple years ago. It’s clear he’s highly intelligent, detailed and a motivator. All the traits needed to run a team. The big question is whether he’s ready. Vrabel only became a coordinator for the first time in 2017. It didn’t go well. His unit was ravaged by injuries and gave up the most points in the NFL. Perhaps that wasn’t a fair test of his abilities but it also proved that he may still have some growing up to do.
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It ultimately comes down to the Titans. Vrabel can say all the right things. Can he back up what he says? There’s no question his top priority is fixing Marcus Mariota. The franchise QB was terrible most of 2017. Vrabel, a defensive specialist, would have to prove he has a plan. Never mind finding a way to improve an okay-not-great Titans defense. Either way it’s a gamble for Tennessee if he’s their guy.