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.
No. 2: Titans HC Mike Vrabel's biggest strength
Mike Vrabel has put together some pretty good defenses for the Titans
The 2022 season is surely one that the Titans would like to forget, especially after its disappointing ending. That said, there were lots of positives. One of them was that they were able to field a respectable defense (14th in points allowed) despite the fact that they were without their best pass rusher and two of their top running backs, Zach Cunningham and David Long Jr.
You know Tennessee felt good about their defensive nucleus when they chose to use all their picks in this year's draft on offense. Sure, general manager Ran Carthon brought in free-agency reinforcements in defensive end Arden Key and cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting but the Titans expect last year's group to be much better now that they're healthy. And that's the thing, Vrabel has consistently put together some pretty formidable defenses.
A former linebacker himself, Vrabel has shown his expertise on defense throughout his five-year stint in Tennessee. In that span, the Titans have ranked in the top 10 of points allowed twice, and that's not a small feat when you factor in how much current NFL rules favor offenses.
With a clean bill of health, it wouldn't be shocking to see the Titans' defense rank somewhere between the top 5-10 in points surrendered this upcoming season. Back in Vrabel's first season at the helm, they were third in the league and you could make the case that this year's better than their 2018 counterpart. So even if the Titans aren't able to win many games in 2023, be sure that opposing teams will have a hard time reaching the end zone.
No. 1: Titans HC Mike Vrabel biggest strength
Titans HC Mike Vrabel knows how to connect with his players
Clubs with a head coach vacancy often look for an offensive mastermind, someone that can outsmart defense and put points on the scoreboard at will. This is why it's not surprising to see teams go after the hottest offensive coordinator. However, coaching in the NFL is more than just Xs or Os or putting together a star-filled roster.
If you want to have sustained success in the pros, you need a coach that can adjust and adapt to his players rather than one with an edge-cutting system. See, NFL teams are full of all kinds of personalities and it's up to the head coach to calibrate their approach to every single one of them. Some players can take on hard coaching, while there need more of a mentor to grasp their assignment. Vrabel is wear both hats.
Vrabel is great at striking balance. He knows what buttons he needs to press to get the most of his players and how to get his point across without looking down on any of them. After all, players are people and Vrabel knows that without them, he can't do his job. This is why you could go into the Titans locker room right now, and you'll be hard-press to find someone who has anything bad to say about their head coach.
If you watched Quarterback on Netflix, you might have seen that Patrick Mahomes spoke highly of the Vrabel. And if you get praise from the best player in the league, you know you're doing something right.
No. 2 Titans HC Mike Vrabel's biggest weakness
Titans Mike Vrabel's decision-making in game situations isn't always the best
Now, Vrabel isn't perfect and just like his peers, he has a few flaws. The good thing is that they're not critical. You won't hear about him making news for the wrong reasons. There aren't any anonymous sources blasting him from inside the building or he won't make headlines because of his personal life. He's pretty much scandal free and that's a trait any owner in need of a coach will want.
So what's one thing that has held Vrabel from being one of the top head coaches in the league? His decision-making in games is one. You have probably heard that the future favors the bold but there's a delicate line between taking a risk and being reckless for the sake of winning. And in that regard, Vrabel could benefit from a more conservative approach.
One of Vrabel's biggest duds in that regard came back against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 7 of the 2018 season. Down 20-13, the Titans reached the end zone on a 1-yard touchdown pass Marcus Mariota threw to Luke Stocker. Even though they were trailing, Tennessee had taken control at that point of the game. Had they kicked the field goal and went into overtime, they would've probably won the game.
Instead, Vrabel chose to go broke and went for two, and fell flat. While there are times when getting two points makes sense, that wasn't one of those times, and Vrabel robbed the Titans of the chance of winning in overtime.
The silver lining is that those kinds of moments have been far and few between during the Vrabel era, and he hasn't made that kind of mistake with the playoffs on the line or on the big stage.
No. 1 Titans HC Mike Vrabel's biggest weakness
Mike Vrabel hasn't gotten the most of his offenses
Now, coaches will always make bad decisions in a game. Sometimes, they have a split second to make up their mind, so they won't have a perfect track record when it comes to making the right choice. This is why, Vrabel's biggest weakness isn't his decision-making. That would be his inability to find an offensive coordinator and keep him for more than two years. This is especially important when you consider that his background is on defense, so he must have the right guy calling the shots on offense.
When Vrabel became the head coach for Tennessee, he picked Matt LaFleur as his offensive coordinator. After a year on the job, he was hired by the Green Bay Packers to be their head coach. Ok, so LaFleur fared well, the Packers took notice and he got a promotion.
Then came, Arthur Smith, who was the Titans offensive coordinator for two seasons before he joined the Atlanta Falcons head coach. In 2021, Vrabel hired Todd Downing for the vacancy and he lasted two seasons. You could argue that it was two too many, as he often failed to get the most out of his personnel and consistently put unimaginative offenses on the field.
The Titans moved on from Downing early this year and brought in Tim Kelly to take his place. The expectation is that he's going to take over the group his predecessor had and consistently put points on the board. But that's the thing, even when Smith and LaFleur were around, Tennessee has ranked inside the top 10 in points scored in the league once, when they were fourth and Mike Vrabel won coach of the year.
If Vrabel wants to win the award once again or — more importantly — get back in the AFC Championship game anytime soon, he has to make sure the Titans have an efficient offense. And having a good offensive coordinator will most definitely help.