NASHVILLE — According to a report from Adam Schefter, the Tennessee Titans have fired head coach Mike Vrabel after six seasons with the organization.

Not a trade, but a straight up firing. The moves comes after Tennessee finished the 2023 season with a 6-11 record, by far the worst mark of Vrabel's tenure as Titans head coach.

But make no mistake about it. Letting Vrabel go is still a wrong, premature decision for Tennessee that they will come to regret.

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Premature to fire Vrabel

When Amy Adams Strunk and the Titans fired GM Jon Robinson last December, it should have been a commitment from Titans ownership to the long-term vision Mike Vrabel had for his football team. Key words: Should have been.

Vrabel was tasked with fixing a broken roster in one offseason with limited cap space and draft selections. Alongside Ran Carthon, Vrabel and the Titans found a promising young quarterback in Will Levis, added cost effective veterans to their defense, and lured DeAndre Hopkins to Music City among other moves.

But for obvious reasons, the Titans' roster was still not built to compete. There were too many holes to fill and not enough resources to do it all in one offseason. Apparently one offseason is all Vrabel was given to work with.

Approaching an offseason with a fair amount of salary cap space and the outline of a competitive roster in place, the Titans now pull the plug on Vrabel and his vision for the organization. That's premature. That's going to be something they regret.

Mike Vrabel has proven that he is a winning head coach. He has proven that he can lead a locker room, inspire a culture, and get the most out of his roster. Vrabel is an NFL Coach of the the Year for a reason. He is going to go elsewhere and succeed. That much I believe wholeheartedly.

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Endorsements from the players

If you need a reason apart from his winning ways for why the Titans should have kept Vrabel on board, look no further than what his players say about him. 

In the Titans locker room yesterday, every player I spoke to strongly believed Vrabel should be back next season. "I can't imagine him not being here," outside linebacker Harold Landry III told the media.

Quarterback Will Levis and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons were also among the players who strongly advocated for Vrabel to return. 

Even at 6-11, the Titans' locker room culture was strong. It's a family that enjoyed coming to work every day and playing hard for the guy next to them. That can be difficult to find and replicate. There's only a handful of coaches around the league who can maintain culture and buy-in during a losing season and it's often the thing that separates a good coach from the rest of the pack.

It's for that exact reason that I expect Vrabel to go find success at his next landing spot. As for the Titans, they'll likely regret this one for years to come.

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