More evidence that the motto of the NFL is "What have you done for me lately?" I was equally shocked that Vrabel was let go in Tennessee after being Coach of the Year just a couple of years ago.
And no takers anywhere else!! I thought he'd be hired in a week, tops. Nope.
I'm shocked Vrabel wasn't hired.
For the most part, Titans fans (myself included) were neither shocked nor disappointed at his departure. He is without question a very good leader, motivator, and preparer. A "leader of men," as was trumpeted by the organization when he was hired. He was also an excellent game manager (clock decisions, situational awareness, rules expertise, etc.). And when he had good staff around him executing the overall vision, he was amongst the very best coaches in football.
Vrabel's achilles heel, though, was his pattern of only hiring his buddies or former contacts/collaborators into just about all the positions around him. And when anyone having success (Matt LeFleur, Arthur Smith, Dean Pees, etc.) was unsurprisingly hired away or retired, he'd almost always hire/promote from within (sometimes with disastrous results, such as their ridiculously unqualified and disastrous offense line coach Jason Houghtaling), or bring someone mediocre/terrible he'd known from somewhere he'd been before (usually traceable to Ohio State or Houston Texans). At first, when things started going horribly wrong after Arthur Smith left, we (fans) were definitely placing the blame at various asst coaches' feet (offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, etc.). But eventually, when those coaches (and the team) just kept dong the same things over and over without success, with literally NO in-game or post-halftime adjustments, or week-to-week improvement, fans got crazy frustrated. The real kicker, though, was how those assts were never called to account for it, no changes were made, and how Vrabel would be outright antagonistic towards any press suggestions that there might be some coaching or scheme or game-planning or play-calling issues. That was the turning point where it was made pretty clear to everyone regularly following the Titans where the real problem was. The buck stops with the head coach. If he won't take responsibility (and make changes in response to) the shortcomings of his support staff, then he becomes the problem.
This exact same thing, incidentally, is what did in Mike Mularkey at the same franchise, which directly led to Vrabel's hiring in the first place. Mularkey changed the culture in Tennessee from years of losing to a winning culture (even won a playoff game in his last season!), but was subsequently fired after the season because he wasn't willing to replace his blatantly under-performing assistant coaches. So, he was shown the door. Just like Vrabel several years later.
So the Titans moved on and hired Callahan from Cincinnati (a hire I quite like, by the way, though obviously it remains to be seen how it goes), and now it is BLATANTLY obvious what his mandate is. He has assembled highly qualified assistant coaches from all kinds of places, and has been preaching nothing but versatility, collaboration, and major scheme shifts from what has happened the past 2-3 years under Vrabel.
Vrabel is not a bad coach- and he can be absolutely outstanding. He WAS the best coach in the league for a couple years, especially when you consider the *insane* injury issues Titans had in back-to-back seasons and their crazy success nonetheless. But he's incredibly stubborn, resistant to change, and loyal to a fault to his previous hires/decisions. Fans (and the franchise) wanted (and glaringly needed) changes in his assistants and their plans/calls/teaching, and when that never ever happened eventually Vrabel had to answer for it. Fairly self-inflicted, actually.
I'm not shocked he wasn't hired elsewhere. I think many GMs and owners didn't love his playstyle, and defensive-background HCs are certainly not all the rage right now. Of course they can be successful (Belichick, etc.), but they HAVE to have great offensive coaches and staff (not to mention QBs!), and Vrabel has struggled mightily in those areas recently.
I think he'll get (and fully deserves) another shot for sure. But Tennessee was right to make this change right now.
Topic: NFL 2024 season - v. Greatest Pats...and 31 other cool teams (Read 4775 times)