What about Mike Vrabel?

Edition #749

Good morning.

Yesterday I outlined my dream scenario and spoke about my vision for the Jets. Like with most things to do with this team, I imagine it’ll stay a pipedream.

Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll talk more about General Manager and Head Coach candidates as well as the future of Aaron Rodgers. We’ll obviously still talk about the 2024 season as even in a lost season you can find some positives.

Today I wanted to talk about Mike Vrabel, who’s a popular name when it comes to head coaching candidates among Jets fans.

🟢 Jets rookie Malachi Corley has been speaking to the official website about his limited opportunities: "Kind of reminds me my story at Western Kentucky," Corley said. "My first year there, I didn't get many opportunities, which is pretty similar to my story here. I've really just been taking everything with a grain of salt, learning that it's God's plan ultimately. If I have to sit behind guys and wait my turn, it's probably for a good reason. Just because I'm a young, talented person coming to the league doesn't mean I know all the ins and outs of how to play football. Sitting behind guys who are in different points of their career who are great players has given me the opportunity to really learn and grow."

⚫ Corley is however taking the opportunity to watch and observe both Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams - "Watching G [Wilson], the way he sets guys up and gets guys going full speed all the time, the way Tae [Adams] is good on the release and intermediate phases, it's route craft," Corley said. "Being around guys like that, you can only help but be a product of your environment. They've really just elevated my game."

🟢 The more I listen to Jamien Sherwood the more he sounds like the leader of the future for this defense: "It's just been a blessing in disguise, it's everything I've been working for, Sadly, when C.J. got hurt, I was the next one to get my shot, I had to be ready. Regardless, I prepare every week like I'm going to be a starter, even though I might never touch the field. That's been my goal my whole time since I've been here."

⚫ Jeff Ulbrich spoke about Sherwood’s communication skills - "Jamien was always an excellent communicator. You talk about diligent and putting the extra time in when no one's looking, that's who he is. So he knows our defense like a coach and he communicates in such a way out there that he gets everybody on the same page. And at the same time, you see a speed in his range, you see that carryover from his safety background, especially his comfort and the way he excels in coverage."

🟢 ESPN’s Matt Miller had a new mock draft out - He had the Jets taking Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter: “…It's possible that Rodgers, Davante Adams & Co. will return for another run at it. If that's the case, the Jets probably would look to plug some holes, including at defensive end. That's where Carter factors in, as he pivoted from split duty between linebacker and edge his first two seasons to a full-time pass rusher in 2024. He has compiled eight sacks while getting pressure on 16.4% of his snaps (fifth in the nation). That production would be welcome for a Jets pass rush that hasn't adequately replaced Bryce Huff and faces questions about Jermaine Johnson, who tore his Achilles in Week 2.” Mason Graham was still on the board at this point, so I don’t love that pick for the Jets…but at least it’s not a safety.

There’s a reason why Mike Vrabel is such a popular name amongst Jets fans, it’s called coordinator exhaustion. As Ron mentioned yesterday, a lot of fans don’t want a first-time head coach, and there aren’t a lot of experienced head coaches on the market, unless you want Jon Gruden…which I do not.

But Mike Vrabel is a very interesting option for the Jets.

He’s been named NFL coach of the year within the last decade (2021), has played and won in multiple Super Bowls and has a winning record as a head coach over 6 years with the Tennessee Titans.

His first four years as a coach he didn’t experience a losing record and took the Titans to the AFC Championship game in just his second year in charge.

The Titans made the post season in three of his six years, but despite making the post season he didn’t record a post-season win in four years and ended his Titans tenure with two losing seasons in a row including a last placed finish in 2023.

Still, the decision to fire Mike Vrabel came as somewhat of a surprise to most people in the NFL, and he’s spending the 2024 season as a consultant with the Cleveland Browns, who are having a poor season sitting bottom of the AFC North at 2-8 having finished 11-6 last season.

So if Vrabel is such a good option, why did the Titans decide to fire him?

Many at the time thought it had to do with the Titans hiring a new GM in Ran Carthon just 12 months before the firing. But that theory seemed to be debunked quite quickly.

Most now believe it was a classic Amy Adams Strunk move, who as owner of the Titans has gained a reputation for one impulsive move after the other. If you look over her history of hirings and firings it may make you scratch your head, we may have one of the worst owners in the NFL, but there are a lot of bad owners in the NFL.

Vrabel was a leader on the field with the Patriots and that has carried over into his head coaching career. You may not get the most innovative coach if you hire Vrabel, but you will get one of the better leaders in that Dan Campbell mould.

Just look at what Derrick Henry had to say following the firing: "Wow. Wow. I'm shocked. Coach Vrabel is a leader of men. He is a great coach and teacher. I know he will get another opportunity right away. I look forward to it," When a star player like Henry who’s been in the league for a while speaks up, it’s a good idea to listen.

The real issue in Tennessee was that there was no alignment. Vrabel had built a team that imposed their physicality on the opposition, but that team started to get dismantled. They traded away A. J. Brown and tried to trade away Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry which reportedly upset Vrabel and caused division within the building. They then traded team captain Kevin Byard and when being introduced into the Patriots Hall of Fame he said "Enjoy this. It's not like this everywhere." - which rubbed people up the wrong way in Tennessee.

I think the issue is as simple as this. Mike Vrabel wanted to win now and he believed he had the team to do that, but once the Titans lost to the Bengals in the 2021 AFC divisional game, the team was picked apart. Stars and leaders were gone and a new band of players were brought in for a new era.

Ryan Tannehill struggled in 2022 and that Titans offence was the sole reason they finished the year on a 7-game losing streak. They scored 20+ points just once in that losing streak and averaged 5.5 points in the second half of games, which was the worst mark in the NFL. That’s a huge issue and offensive struggles have become quite common for Jets fans which is where there is some hesitation for me with Vrabel.

But that 2022 season was a strange one for Tennessee. They started 7-3 and ended up 7-10. They used 85 different players, 6 short of the NFL-record 91, 23 players headed to IR, which shows these weren’t short term injuries. Ryan Tannehill returned, didn’t look the same and then ended the season on IR. They couldn’t protect the QB due to all the injuries.

Vrabel both accepted and fired Todd Downing and Keith Carter who landed in New York, so I’ll leave it up to you if it’s a positive he fired them or a negative he stuck with them for as long as he did.