3 strengths and 2 weaknesses of Mike Vrabel heading into 2023
• The Titans have a keeper in HC Mike Vrabel
• What exactly makes him rise above his peers?
• What's his most glaring weakness?
It took the Tennessee Titans several years to find a replacement for Jeff Fisher, who spent 17 seasons at the helm but they finally got it right when they hired Mike Vrabel to be their head coach in 2018.
Vrabel got his start in the coaching ranks as a linebackers coach for the Houston Texans in 2014. He got promoted to defensive coordinator three years later. He only lasted one season on the job though, as the Titans hired him to succeed Mike Mularky in 2018.
Since Vrabel took the reins, Tennessee has made the playoffs three times and reached the AFC Championship once. Despite the fact that the Titans are coming off their first losing season, Vrabel isn't on shaky grounds and has the full support of the owner Amy Adams.
So what makes Vrabel such a successful coach? And what could potentially hold him back? Here are three of his biggest strengths (and two of his weakness).
No. 3: Titans HC Mike Vrabel's biggest strength
Titans HC Mike Vrabel excels at adjusting to the personnel he's given
Mike Vrabel wasn't thrilled to find out that then-general manager Jon Robinson traded wide receiver A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2022 NFL Draft. While that was one of the many decisions that led to Robinson's dismissal, Vrabel got to work and did what he could do with the personnel he had.
Similarly, Vrabel had to adjust to the absence of outside linebacker Harold Landry III, who tore his ACL before the start of the regular season last year. Looking back, he could have easily made excuses — something Fisher often did — but he got to work and did what he could with the players he had.
Granted, the Titans went on to lose seven straight games to finish the 2022 season but he did an admirable job of keeping the team despite the fact that they had a league-high 34 players on Injured Reserve.
And that's the thing, the Titans were on the brink of winning the AFC South and making the playoffs in spite of having so many players on IR. And that's a statement of Vrabel's adaptability and ability to show up on the football field with whatever players he's got at hand.