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Titans rumors: Former Chiefs linebacker Mike Vrabel labeled coaching “favorite”

By Matt Conner

ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 03: Assistant coach, Mike Vrabel of the Houston Texans during a preseason game on September 3, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 03: Assistant coach, Mike Vrabel of the Houston Texans during a preseason game on September 3, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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It looks like media reports are setting up former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Mike Vrabel to be the “favorite” to take over for head coach Mike Mularkey in Nashville.

It wasn’t common for announcers, fellow teammates and coaches to call Mike Vrabel a “leader” or “general” on the field whenever he was an active linebacker for the New England Patriots or Kansas City Chiefs. Even since hanging up his cleats, Vrabel has continued to be a leader of men, and it’s likely that he’s going to have that as his official role as head coach of the Tennessee Titans if current media rumors are true.

Jason Wolf, writing for the Tennesseean, recently called Vrabel the “favorite” for the job after the team’s first round of interviews, a group that also included Steve Wilks of the Carolina Panthers and Matt LaFleur of the Los Angeles Rams. Wolf notes that Vrabel was the very first candidate to get a head coaching interview in the first place, and he seems to personify the tough, gritty sort of leadership qualities that general manager Jon Robinson has been looking for.

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Even more important than Vrabel’s outstanding coaching qualities, which are many, might be the shared history and understanding between Robinson and Vrabel, who both spent several formative years under Bill Belichick in New England. By bringing in someone who will inherently understand so much about the culture Robinson wants to create, he can save himself a lot of work by not having to describe it to an outsider.

If Vrabel does get a head coaching gig at this point, it will have been a steep climb all the way to head coach in a short amount of time. Vrabel never even coached at any level until 2011 when he took an assistant coaching position at Ohio State, where he stayed for 3 seasons. From there, he took over as linebackers coach for Bill O’Brien and the Houston Texans, where he was promoted to defensive coordinator just this last season.

Vrabel had 57 sacks, 19 forced fumbles, 40 passes defended and 11 interceptions in his 14 year career in the NFL.

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