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Mike Vrabel returns to Nashville to face the Tennessee Titans for the first time since his firing on Jan. 9, 2024 when the Titans host the New England Patriots on Oct. 19 at Nissan Stadium.
Vrabel spent six seasons with the Titans, his first head-coaching job. The Titans made the playoffs three times, but a 13-21 stretch in 2022 and 2023 produced no playoff appearances and helped trigger his dismissal.
Still, the Titans have not made the postseason since the three-year stretch from 2019-21. Tennessee made the AFC Championship Game in the 2019 season, then followed it with two AFC South titles.
Vrabel's firing 22 months ago wasn't the first major change by the organization in recent seasons, but Vrabel is the first one of those GM/coach firings to move to another organization with the same job and play against the Titans.
The irony is thick heading into Titans-Patriots, with Vrabel's replacement Brian Callahan being fired at the beginning of the week. Vrabel is in Year 1 with the Patriots, owning a 4-2 record and sitting atop the AFC East.
Here's what you need to know about Vrabel's Titans tenure:
GENTRY ESTES: Mike Vrabel isn't a Tennessee Titans villain. He'll be one of their biggest regrets
VRABEL'S RETURN: Tennessee Titans veterans share some favorite Mike Vrabel quotes, memories before rematch
Mike Mularkey was not retained by the Titans as head coach following a 2017 season that included a playoff appearance and a win in the AFC Wild Card round at Kansas City.
Vrabel, then the Texans defensive coordinator, was hired on Jan. 20, 2018 to provide more presence in the building.
"Mike has a commanding presence and a deep knowledge for how he will attack this head coaching opportunity," Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said at the time.
Ryan Tannehill became the Titans starting quarterback in October 2019 after Marcus Mariota struggled to a 2-4 start.
The Titans were immediately better, going 7-3 in the final 10 games including a stunning win over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to make the playoffs
Tennessee drew Vrabel's old team, the New England Patriots, in the AFC Wild Card round. And in a misty, cold night in Massachusetts, Tom Brady's final game as a Patriot ended via a Titans 20-13 upset win.
The next week was an even bigger upset. The Titans dominated the 14-2 Ravens in Baltimore, 28-12 to advance to the AFC Championship Game. (The win at Baltimore is the last Titans playoff win to this point.)
Tennessee then went to Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game, leading 17-7 in the first half but losing 35-24.
Tennessee won the AFC South in the COVID-impacted 2020 season but was one-and-done in the postseason via a home loss to the Ravens.
The Titans did one better in 2021, securing the 1-seed in the AFC with a 12-5 record that included wins over the Bills, Chiefs and Rams in the regular season.
But the Titans went one-and-done again in the playoffs, losing 19-16 against the Bengals on a final-second field goal. Ryan Tannehill tossed three interceptions including one in the final minutes that set up the game-winner for Cincinnati, while Derrick Henry was rusty coming off of a foot injury. Tennessee's defense sacked Joe Burrow nine times, but it wasn't enough.
An inflection point in the Titans' arc came after Nov. 17, when the Titans stomped the Packers in Green Bay on Thursday Night Football to move to 7-3.
The Titans wouldn't win again that season.
GM Jon Robinson was fired following a blowout loss at Philadelphia on Dec. 6 with the Titans sitting at 7-5 and in firm control of the division. Robinson had a run of three bad drafts leading up to 2022, and the A.J. Brown trade to the Eagles during the 2022 draft was another franchise inflection point. Still, the move came at an awkward time.
Tennessee lost its final seven games, including a 20-16 loss in Week 18 at Jacksonville in what amounted to an AFC South championship game, to miss the playoffs. Ryan Tannehill missed the final three games of the regular season with an ankle injury, and Malik Willis and Joshua Dobbs proving ineffective.
One year later, the Titans went 6-11 and missed the playoffs in an odd season that included Vrabel spending the Titans bye week being inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame, the in-season trade of fan favorite Kevin Byard and quarterback shuffling between Tannehill and rookie Will Levis.
Two days after the season ended, Vrabel's tenure with the Titans ended when he was fired after six years and a 54-45 record. The Tennessean reported that Vrabel's philosophy toward roster building and organization building did not match the Titans' growing desire to become more collaborative.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Mike Vrabel Titans coaching history as former coach returns to Nashville
Continue reading...
Vrabel spent six seasons with the Titans, his first head-coaching job. The Titans made the playoffs three times, but a 13-21 stretch in 2022 and 2023 produced no playoff appearances and helped trigger his dismissal.
Still, the Titans have not made the postseason since the three-year stretch from 2019-21. Tennessee made the AFC Championship Game in the 2019 season, then followed it with two AFC South titles.
Vrabel's firing 22 months ago wasn't the first major change by the organization in recent seasons, but Vrabel is the first one of those GM/coach firings to move to another organization with the same job and play against the Titans.
The irony is thick heading into Titans-Patriots, with Vrabel's replacement Brian Callahan being fired at the beginning of the week. Vrabel is in Year 1 with the Patriots, owning a 4-2 record and sitting atop the AFC East.
Here's what you need to know about Vrabel's Titans tenure:
Mike Vrabel Titans coaching record
- 2018: 9-7, missed playoffs
- 2019: 9-7, wild card, beat Patriots in AFC Wild Card, beat Ravens in AFC Divisional, lost to Chiefs in AFC Championshiip
- 2020: 11-5, AFC South champion, lost to Ravens in AFC Wild Card
- 2021: 12-5, AFC No. 1 seed, lost to Bengals in AFC Divisional
- 2022: 7-10, missed playoffs
- 2023: 6-11, missed playoffs
GENTRY ESTES: Mike Vrabel isn't a Tennessee Titans villain. He'll be one of their biggest regrets
VRABEL'S RETURN: Tennessee Titans veterans share some favorite Mike Vrabel quotes, memories before rematch
Why Titans hired Mike Vrabel in 2018
Mike Mularkey was not retained by the Titans as head coach following a 2017 season that included a playoff appearance and a win in the AFC Wild Card round at Kansas City.
Vrabel, then the Texans defensive coordinator, was hired on Jan. 20, 2018 to provide more presence in the building.
"Mike has a commanding presence and a deep knowledge for how he will attack this head coaching opportunity," Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said at the time.
Titans knock out Tom Brady, Lamar Jackson in 2019 AFC playoffs
Ryan Tannehill became the Titans starting quarterback in October 2019 after Marcus Mariota struggled to a 2-4 start.
The Titans were immediately better, going 7-3 in the final 10 games including a stunning win over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to make the playoffs
Tennessee drew Vrabel's old team, the New England Patriots, in the AFC Wild Card round. And in a misty, cold night in Massachusetts, Tom Brady's final game as a Patriot ended via a Titans 20-13 upset win.
The next week was an even bigger upset. The Titans dominated the 14-2 Ravens in Baltimore, 28-12 to advance to the AFC Championship Game. (The win at Baltimore is the last Titans playoff win to this point.)
Tennessee then went to Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game, leading 17-7 in the first half but losing 35-24.
AFC No. 1 seed in 2021, but a missed opportunity in the playoffs
Tennessee won the AFC South in the COVID-impacted 2020 season but was one-and-done in the postseason via a home loss to the Ravens.
The Titans did one better in 2021, securing the 1-seed in the AFC with a 12-5 record that included wins over the Bills, Chiefs and Rams in the regular season.
But the Titans went one-and-done again in the playoffs, losing 19-16 against the Bengals on a final-second field goal. Ryan Tannehill tossed three interceptions including one in the final minutes that set up the game-winner for Cincinnati, while Derrick Henry was rusty coming off of a foot injury. Tennessee's defense sacked Joe Burrow nine times, but it wasn't enough.
Why the Titans fired Mike Vrabel, from 2022 collapse to 2023 downturn
An inflection point in the Titans' arc came after Nov. 17, when the Titans stomped the Packers in Green Bay on Thursday Night Football to move to 7-3.
The Titans wouldn't win again that season.
GM Jon Robinson was fired following a blowout loss at Philadelphia on Dec. 6 with the Titans sitting at 7-5 and in firm control of the division. Robinson had a run of three bad drafts leading up to 2022, and the A.J. Brown trade to the Eagles during the 2022 draft was another franchise inflection point. Still, the move came at an awkward time.
Tennessee lost its final seven games, including a 20-16 loss in Week 18 at Jacksonville in what amounted to an AFC South championship game, to miss the playoffs. Ryan Tannehill missed the final three games of the regular season with an ankle injury, and Malik Willis and Joshua Dobbs proving ineffective.
One year later, the Titans went 6-11 and missed the playoffs in an odd season that included Vrabel spending the Titans bye week being inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame, the in-season trade of fan favorite Kevin Byard and quarterback shuffling between Tannehill and rookie Will Levis.
Two days after the season ended, Vrabel's tenure with the Titans ended when he was fired after six years and a 54-45 record. The Tennessean reported that Vrabel's philosophy toward roster building and organization building did not match the Titans' growing desire to become more collaborative.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Mike Vrabel Titans coaching history as former coach returns to Nashville
Continue reading...
