Mike Vrabel updates Titans OC search with interesting comment
The latest update from head coach Mike Vrabel on the Tennessee Titans' search for an offensive coordinator contains an interesting comment that might point to Tennessee's leading candidates. While Vrabel is currently scouting with Titans' GM Ran Carthon at the 2023 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Vrabel spoke to Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com to discuss everything […]
The latest update from head coach Mike Vrabel on the Tennessee Titans' search for an offensive coordinator contains an interesting comment that might point to Tennessee's leading candidates.
While Vrabel is currently scouting with Titans' GM Ran Carthon at the 2023 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Vrabel spoke to Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com to discuss everything from the NFL Draft to the team's offensive coordinator and assistant coaching vacancies.
Coordinator candidates are beginning to come off the board around the NFL. Nathaniel Hackett (NYJ), Mike LaFleur (LAR), Bill O'Brien (NE), and Kellen Moore (LAC) have already accepted OC jobs, and the Titans are now one of nine vacancies remaining. Here's what Vrabel had to say about the state of Tennessee's search and interview process:
"It's going good, I feel good about where we're at, and having a plan for multiple scenarios. I've enjoyed meeting with a lot of different coaches and hearing ideas and visions and (I'm) trying to figure out what's best for us. … (It will happen) when the time is right, and when the opportunity is there."
The most interesting bit of that comment is Vrabel saying the Titans OC hire will come "when the time is right and the opportunity is there."
Could that mean the opportunity has not yet presented itself for the Titans to hire their ideal offensive coordinator candidate? Could that mean their ideal offensive coordinator candidate is coaching for a team that is playing in the Super Bowl?
There has been very little smoke regarding potential fits for the Titans' OC position outside of the team's request to interview Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Chiefs QB coach Matt Nagy. Adam Schefter reported that Bieniemy was still being considered for the Titans' OC job as recently as Sunday, while Nagy was named a "prime candidate" for the job by NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler of ESPN just a few weeks ago.
One of these two candidates would fit Vrabel's "when the opportunity is there" timeline perfectly. Bieniemy was reportedly focused primarily on trying to land a head coaching opportunity during this interview cycle, while Nagy had not yet confirmed Tennessee's request for an interview. It's possible these two being focused on hoisting a Lombardi Trophy is preventing the Titans from moving on either one of them as the next offensive coordinator.
Usually, where there's smoke, there's fire, and the only smoke regarding OC candidates has been blowing in from Kansas City. As of now, it feels like the Titans will hire either Bieniemy or Nagy as their next OC, but they may have to wait until after the Super Bowl to make it happen.
Image via George Walker IV / Tennessean.com-USA TODAY NETWORK
