On Thursday, ESPN's Bill Barnwell ranked the top five head coaching hires since 2017, and he didn't include Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel in his top five.

Barnwell has Vrabel ranked as the sixth-best hire since 2017, ranking him behind Kyle Shanahan (49ers), Bruce Arians (Buccaneers), Sean McDermott (Bills), Matt LaFleur (Packers), and Sean McVay (Rams).

Here's what Barnwell said about Vrabel:

Vrabel's game management has generally been a plus. I don't think I'll ever forget him exploiting the league's delay of game rules in the fourth quarter against the Patriots while his former coach, Bill Belichick, fumed on the opposite sideline.

On the other hand, Vrabel made a major misstep in punting late during last season's playoff loss to the Ravens, and the Titans were mostly able to avoid tough competition while they were without Derrick Henry during the second half of this season. The star back is expected to return from his foot injury this weekend, which would leave the Titans without excuses as they get to play through the AFC bracket at home. This looms as a key postseason for Vrabel. Advance to the Super Bowl, and he will rightfully be regarded as one of the league's top coaches. Come up short, and there will be questions about whether the Titans just whiffed on the best chance they'll have to win silverware.

It's pretty easy to find fault with this list.

I have no problem with Shanahan, Arians, and McVay being ranked above Vrabel. Arians has won a Super Bowl, while Shanahan and McVay have both reached the Super Bowl. Vrabel, on the other hand, hasn't made it past the AFC Championship game.

But having Vrabel behind LaFleur and McDermott?

I don't understand that at all.

Nothing against LeFleur and McDermott — they've each done a tremendous job since becoming head coaches.

But LaFleur has a future Hall of Famer at quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, while McDermott has only improved the Bills' winning percentage by 10 percent during his time in Buffalo (from the previous three seasons). Vrabel, however, has improved the Titans' winning percentage by 20 percent from the previous three seasons.

And then there's the incredible job that Vrabel did this season when the Titans' lengthy injury report often read like a Tolstoy novel. Tennessee had no business being the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC this season with all the adversity the team faced.

Vrabel has his faults, but he's absolutely one of the five best coaching hires made since 2017. Barnwell, like a lot of folks in the national media, isn't giving Vrabel and the Titans enough credit.

Featured image via George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK