NFL Insider Suggests Main Reason Why Titans Fired Mike Vrabel

Once believed to have one of the best coaching situations in all of football, the Titans now will have to find someone new to occupy the helm.

Tennessee on Tuesday shockingly cut ties with Mike Vrabel and did so via firing rather than a trade. Vrabel’s tenure in Nashville was largely successful, as he guided playoff runs in three of his six seasons and won Coach of the Year in 2021.

The 2023 campaign obviously was disappointing for the 6-11 Titans, but letting go of Vrabel felt like an aggressive move. In a Sports Illustrated column published Tuesday, Albert Breer offered insight on why the decision was made.

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“I think this is mostly about an owner — Amy Adams Strunk — with a reputation for being a bit impulsive and quick-triggered, searching for the right organizational structure, which has very clearly eluded her to this point,” Breer wrote.

The NFL insider added: “To me, this isn’t about Vrabel or (Ran) Carthon. It’s about Strunk. Vrabel likes the personnel part of his job and came from places (Bill Belichick’s New England, Urban Meyer’s Ohio State Buckeyes, Bill O’Brien’s Houston Texans) where the head coach had a very strong voice, if not total control, in picking the players. It stands to reason that Vrabel expected a little more of that, and rightfully so, when Strunk did what she did last year. That would also explain, to be sure, why Vrabel might’ve been less of a fit in a more built-out front office.”

If Breer’s read on the situation is correct, New England might not be Vrabel’s preferred landing spot. Considering how deeply the Patriots regressed in recent years, Robert Kraft might be reluctant to give a coach so much influence on personnel choices. A more traditional structure of head coach and general manager could become the preference in Foxboro, Mass., if the franchise moves on from Bill Belichick.

That said, Vrabel reportedly is interested in returning to the Patriots, so maybe he will hit free agency with an open mind.