Anonymous NFL GM body shames former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel for being an absolute unit
For as much as we know about the hiring process for NFL head coaches, we actually know very little at all. There are a plethora of reasons why some hires work out, and some set organizations back years. In some cases, qualified candidates get passed over for archaic or even nonsensical reasons. Former Tennessee Titans […]
For as much as we know about the hiring process for NFL head coaches, we actually know very little at all.
There are a plethora of reasons why some hires work out, and some set organizations back years. In some cases, qualified candidates get passed over for archaic or even nonsensical reasons.
Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel can now relate in a hilariously insane way.
In an appearance on The Athletic Football Show, NFL insider Diana Russini of The Athletic said an NFL GM told her that on top of Vrabel's coaching style not being wanted by hiring teams, his "physical build" is potentially a factor as to why clubs didn't want him taking on a leadership role with them.
"I had a GM at the Senior Bowl who mentioned to me Vrabel's physical build," Russini said. "That he's a very large human being. And can be very intimidating to people in an organization that are going to be part of these decisions. And that is a factor."
It's a what?!
Mike Vrabel is too jacked to coach an NFL team again
Being 6-4 and around 260 pounds is how Vrabel was able to succeed on the field as an NFL player for 14 years. The guy was a linebacker for crying out loud. That position required you to be pretty bulky back in the lates 1990s and 2000s.
Not every former player, regardless of position or talent level, succeeds at being a coach at any level. Vrabel became an exception. The former All-Pro player and Super Bowl champion for the New England Patriots worked his way up the coaching ladder and eventually took over the Titans in 2018. He went 54-45 and earned Coach of the Year honors for his winningest season in 2021.
The Titans made a somewhat surprising choice to let Vrabel go after the 2023 season. Was it his immense stature that caused his tenure to fall short of greater heights, or did a million other rational reasons factor into such a nuanced situation? Apparently, this isn't a rhetorical question to some.
Russini, of course, scoffed at the idea that this is something that actually matters, but the GM doubled down on his sentiment.
"I've been in rooms and someone's physical presence can make a difference."
Running an NFL team is still a business that deals with business-type issues at the end of the day, but on top of turning a profit with a quality culture, the goal is to be as successful on the field as possible. Fearing that an extremely qualified person's physical build could negatively impact the power dynamic in a room full of grown adults making important decisions is hysterical at best, and dumbfounding at worst. Perhaps they exist simultaneously.
This anonymous GM hopefully doesn't speak for the entire rest of the league when it comes to Vrabel and other husky-looking candidates. Nonetheless, the 48-year old is still looking for work while eight other candidates landed a job he's proven he can do.
The NFL is no stranger when it comes outsmarting itself with player and personnel decisions. There have been countless free agency signings and head coaching hires that were questionable from the beginning and proved to be equally disastrous in the end.
Nearly all of them were initially brought in based on connections, experience, or simply fitting what subjectivities ownership had in mind for the role.
No one's going to bat 1.000 at the plate. There are simply egregious pitches you shouldn't swing at, just like there are meatballs that need to be smacked out of the park.
Passing up on Vrabel because of his literal size is watching a juicy fastball go across the plate for strike three.
Biggest losers from 2024 NFL head coach hiring cycle
All eight vacancies around the league are now filled. Who got left out in the cold, and who should already be regretting their choice?
