Former NFL Coach: Vrabel Will Do 'Whatever is Necessary'
NASHVILLE – Even in the midst of a four-game winning streak that’s seen them climb atop the AFC South, the Tennessee Titans aren’t producing the kind of stats that wow the football world.
Not even close, actually.
• The Titans rank 31st in average yards per game and 26th in average yards allowed per game.
• They have thrown for 200 yards or more just once in their last five contests.
• They average just 19.2 points per game, and haven’t scored more than 24 points all season.
An opportunistic defense is one big reason for the Titans’ success. Tennessee – despite playing one game fewer than most teams – has 10 takeaways (tied for ninth in the league), six interceptions (tied for 11th) and a plus-three turnover ratio (tied for sixth).
But former NFL coach Eric Mangini believes one of his former players – coach Mike Vrabel – deserves plenty of praise, not only for what he’s done in Tennessee this season, but over the course of his five years on the job. Vrabel is 47-29 during that stretch (regular season and playoffs), was voted the NFL’s Coach of the Year in 2021, and has guided the Titans back from an 0-2 start this season – despite a significant number of injuries in each of the last two years.
“I give Mike a ton of credit -- he’s overachieved year in and year out with the group that he’s had, and he consistently finds a way to win,” Mangini, now an analyst for The 33rd Team website, said. “You go into the season with who you want to be, and the really good coaches figure out who you have to be, and Mike does a great job figuring out who his team has to be as the season goes on.
“It’s very easy to write them off. It’s not like they’re blowing you away with the playmakers they have offensively, and oftentimes they’re overlooked until the end of the year, where suddenly they’re the number one seed or pushing for the one or two spot. It really is a testament to Mike and his intelligence and flexibility as a coach.”
A former head coach of the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns, Mangini served as New England’s defensive coordinator in 2005. Vrabel posted a career-high 108 tackles that year for the Patriots, along with 4.5 sacks and two interceptions.
“You could argue that when Mike played, he was an assistant under (Patriots coach Bill Belichick) and with us,” Mangini said. “Mike was arguably the smartest player I ever coached. His recall of things that happened multiple years ago, as we were installing gameplans, was impressive.
“It could be something we had gone back to from two or three years ago, and not only could he recall it, but he could recall the situation and he could recall the problems we had in either installing it or things we could do better. It was amazing.”
Vrabel steered the Titans to a 12-5 record and the AFC’s top seed last season even as running back Derrick Henry missed nine games with a foot injury. He has the Titans moving in the right direction again this season, despite the loss of edge rusher Harold Landry before the season and left tackle Taylor Lewan in the second game of the season.
“What you know is whatever happens in Tennessee, Mike will be able to move some pieces around and look, if it’s running the ball 35 times a game, he’s happy to do that,” Mangini said. “If it’s throwing the ball 35 times a game, he’s happy to do that. He doesn’t have the ego as a head coach to do something the same every week. He has the flexibility to do whatever it takes to win. He’s going to do whatever is necessary to win.”
