Why Vrabel reached out to fired Titans coach who replaced him

The Titans’ determination to fireside Mike Vrabel as head coach in January 2024 hasn’t panned out all that properly.

After parting ways with Vrabel — who coached Tennessee to the AFC Championship Recreation in 2019 — the Titans changed him with Brian Callahan. 

Callahan did little to reverse the Titans’ fortunes within the post-Vrabel period, going 4-19 earlier than the team eventually fired him forward of Vrabel and the Patriots’ arrival in Nashville this weekend. 

Whereas Vrabel might maintain icy sentiment towards the coach who changed him in Tennessee, the Patriots head coach mentioned one in all his first orders of enterprise this week was to succeed in out to Callahan — who’s in an analogous place to what Vrabel went by way of only a few years in the past. 

“I don’t need to see anybody who shares a job with you to get let go,” Vrabel mentioned on Wednesday. “That’s a troublesome feeling with household and faculty, whether or not it’s school or professional. There’s a human component to this that I don’t need to overlook. 

“I bear in mind all of these coaches and individuals who reached out to me after I used to be let go. I feel that’s vital. No person texts if you lose, however all of them textual content if you win. That’s an excellent reminder.”

Past the discourse relating to Callahan’s firing and potential raise that the Titans might obtain underneath interim head coach Mike McCoy, the principle narrative getting into Week 7 is Vrabel’s probability to precise revenge in opposition to his former staff. 

However Vrabel downplayed any discuss of the Patriots holding any added motivation to beat Tennessee in assist of their coach. 

“We’re not attempting to win one for the Gipper right here,” Vrabel mentioned. “We’re simply attempting to verify these guys are targeted on enhancing. I feel they’re locked in. Hopefully we will get them to arrange one of the best we presumably can between now and Sunday.”

Drake Maye acknowledged that Vrabel isn’t treating his return to Tennessee as a “huge deal” in his conferences with the gamers this week — with the Patriots head coach as a substitute reinforcing that New England shouldn’t get too carried away and overlook the Titans after profitable three consecutive video games. 

“Ignore a few of the noise,” Maye mentioned Wednesday. “Ignore a few of the noise of him going again to a spot he coached at, of us having some success, and getting placed on a hype prepare with the success we’ve had. It’s time for us to maintain proving it week in and week out. That’s been our essential focus.

“Maintain going, ignore the noise, and know that if we preserve enjoying like this, we’ll have an actual shot when it’s time for the playoffs to come back. However that’s a protracted methods away.”

 

Conor Ryan is a employees author masking the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Crimson Sox for Boston.com, a task he has held since 2023.