What Mike Vrabel learned about himself during the 2024 NFL season should have Patriots fans elated about the future
After being fired as the Tennessee Titans head coach following the 2023 season, Mike Vrabel decided to take a step back for the following season. He could have chosen to be a coordinator for another team, but instead, he joined the Cleveland Browns as a coaching and personnel consultant. So, did that year recharge his […]
After being fired as the Tennessee Titans head coach following the 2023 season, Mike Vrabel decided to take a step back for the following season.
He could have chosen to be a coordinator for another team, but instead, he joined the Cleveland Browns as a coaching and personnel consultant.
So, did that year recharge his battery?
"I think that it did," Vrabel revealed on The Green Light podcast with Chris Long. "People always ask me, 'Oh, what did you learn?' Well, I learned that I missed it like hell. Like there's nothing else that I want to do. That's what I learned.
"Once you realize what you really want to do in life, you'll figure out ways to make that happen. And obviously I learned other things, but I learned how badly I missed it and how badly I wanted to continue doing it."
During his introductory press conference, Vrabel also took a moment to thank the Browns organization for giving him the opportunity last season.
"I'd be remiss if I didn't thank the Cleveland Browns organization for the opportunity they provided me last year with Jimmy and Dee Haslam and then Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski and all those coaches and players that allowed me to spend some time with them last year," he said in January.
And he had a similar sentiment about learning that coaching was his real passion after having to take a break from it. But he also was able to become a better coach based on his experiences over the 2024 season.
"I realized that I missed it with everything that I had in my soul, that I missed having the opportunity to lead, to help put a team together, a staff together, that I missed that. But I also embraced helping out the players and the younger players," he explained. "That allowed me more time to try to develop younger players that were on the practice squad, whether that be with the tight ends or the offensive line. I really enjoyed Kevin's idea of putting a defensive coach or what would seem to be a defensive coach with the offense. I'm sure, if you ask people in Tennessee, they would think I was probably the third or fourth offensive line coach as much time as I spent in there, but I know how important it is to a football team and to an offense. So really enjoyed getting to know those players and teaching them and helping the staff, helping the young coaches.
"It just reminded me of not forgetting all the small, little details that are critical in coaching and teaching. To be able to work with young coaches and help them prepare, interview them, have mock interviews so they can develop. I always tell them whatever — no one had a worse first coaching interview than I did. I think that's documented. It was with Urban Meyer at Ohio State, and it's guaranteed to be the worst interview that anybody's ever had, and I got another opportunity eight hours later, and I did a little better the second time.
"I try to — was able to work with the young coaches and really just get back to focusing on teaching and developing and what their style can be. Then the players, the fundamentals that are critical. We're going to play with detail. We're going to play with technique. We're going to play with fundamentals. There's going to be a brand of football that everybody associated with our team or our fans is going to be proud of."
