Derrick Henry gives Mike Vrabel ringing endorsement
NASHVILLE — Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel has been under a lot of scrutiny in recent weeks with his team falling out of contention. At 3-7 on the year, the Titans are now 3-14 in their last 17 games and fans are growing impatient with their head coach. Despite the criticism from a contingent […]
NASHVILLE — Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel has been under a lot of scrutiny in recent weeks with his team falling out of contention.
At 3-7 on the year, the Titans are now 3-14 in their last 17 games and fans are growing impatient with their head coach. Despite the criticism from a contingent of the fanbase, it is believed that Titans ownership plans to keep Vrabel longterm and will not fire him or trade him after the season (as reported by Dianna Russini).
2023 record aside, it's not hard to see why Amy Adams Strunk and Titans ownership feels this way. For Vrabel's supporters and players, his ability to lead a team and establish culture is second to none and makes him worth keeping around. It's something that separates him from other coaches around the National Football League that are cycled in and out of jobs every 3-4 years.
There is no better example of this than what Titans running back Derrick Henry said in his press conference earlier this week. Henry gave Vrabel a ringing endorsement that should tell everyone just how important Vrabel is to Tennessee's longterm success as an organization.
Henry was asked why Vrabel's messaging still gets through to the players in the locker room when the team hasn't been winning games. "Because it has worked. We know it works," said Henry. "We know that as players, it falls on us to go out there and execute. His standard and culture has worked for the time that he's been here. It's tough right now because we haven't been winning, but I truly believe eventually everything will turn the way we want it to."
Titans fans may not be happy with Vrabel at the moment. But they can take it from Derrick Henry, who is one of the best players in franchise history that has done nothing but win throughout his entire football career. Vrabel's standards and culture can withstand a 3-7 start and a disappointing season and still lead to success for the organization down the line.
Tennessee has not had the necessary talent to compete this year. But a lot of the blame for that still rests on the shoulders of Jon Robinson. Vrabel and Ran Carthon were very limited financially in the moves they were able to make this offseason and a majority of the roster is still made up of acquisitions from the Robinson era.
No coach contends with this team, and diminishing the impact of Vrabel's leadership because of this group's record is a bit shortsighted, in my opinion. Should he be criticized? Absolutely. Questioned? No doubt. But fired? Not unless the Titans want to join 80 percent of NFL teams in the never ending coaching carousel.
Derrick Henry knows what he's talking about. And Mike Vrabel knows what he's doing.
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