Vrabel Named NFL Coach of the Year

Mike Vrabel said it often when asked late in the season about being a contender for NFL Coach of the Year. It is interesting, but not important.

Well, consider him a person of interest.

The man in charge of the Tennessee Titans was named 2021 NFL Coach of the Year on Thursday during the NFL Honors program as part of the league’s Super Bowl week festivities.

Vrabel previously was named Coach of the Year by the Professional Football Writers of America, but this latest honor is considered the official NFL award. A vote of Associated Press members, and Vrabel was the pick over Cincinnati’s Zac Taylor, Green Bay’s Mike Vrabel, L.A. Rams’ Sean McVay and New England’s Bill Belichick.

“It is an honor and a privilege to play and coach in this league,” Vrabel said upon accepting the award. “… My job and every coach’s job is to teach, develop and to make a connection and make an impact.”

His victory is interesting because he got 36 of the 50 votes, an overwhelming number and the most since 2015 when then-Carolina coach Ron Rivera got 36.5 votes. LaFleur was second with eight. Last year’s winner, Kevin Stefanski of Cleveland, won with 25 votes, 18 more than the runner-up.

It also is interesting because Vrabel is the first coach in franchise history to claim the honor. He led the Titans to a 12-5 record, the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs and a second straight division titles despite injuries and personnel issues that forced Tennessee to set an NFL record for players used in a season (91).

Another interesting element is the fact that this is the third straight year Tennessee has collected one of the NFL’s top individual honors. In 2019, quarterback Ryan Tannehill was named Comeback Player of the Year, and in 2020, running back Derrick Henry was named Offensive Player of the Year.

Finally, it is interesting because he is just the second coach from the AFC South, which was created in 2002, to win the award. The only other was Indianapolis’ Bruce Arians in 2012, when he served as interim head coach while Chuck Pagano underwent treatment for cancer.

Vrabel just completed his fourth season, which makes him just the second “veteran” coach to win it recently. Three of the previous four winners were coaches in their first year on the job, Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams (2017), Matt Nagy of the Chicago Bears (2018) and Stefanski last season.

“This is a reflection of our 91 players that helped us win 12 games and our coaching staff,” Vrabel said. “This is a pleasure.”