The Tennessee Titans dismissed Mike Vrabel on Tuesday, which surprised some but undoubtedly piqued the interest of teams looking for a head coach. Mark Davis, the owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, has not officially scheduled interviews for his available position—he is currently concentrating on potential general managers—but Vrabel might be on his short list of applicants.
Several NFL sources have speculated that Davis may seek to make a splashy hire like his last two, Jon Gruden and Josh McDaniels. If that is the case, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh may not be the only prominent name vying for the Raiders position.
We’ve heard murmurs about Harbaugh and perhaps Gruden returning to the Silver and Black for a third time. What about Vrabel, though?
According to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, Davis may be interested in the former Titans head coach.
When asked about the most likely Raiders head coach and general manager scenario, the MMQB’s Albert Breer mentioned Vrabel as well as former Titans front-office staffer Ryan Cowden, who is now the senior advisor to New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen.
Breer wrote in his mailbag response to X user Maino03, “Vrabel and Cowden.” “I believe the Raiders will take a shot at Harbaugh. And I believe that if they are unable to land a big fish like Vrabel, Harbaugh, or Belichick, they would likely stick with Antonio Pierce.”
Cowden was the Titans’ director of player personnel from 2016 to 2017, vice president of player personnel from 2018 to 22, and interim general manager when Jon Robinson was fired in 2022.
Vrabel may be able to vouch for Cowden at his future location, as Breer stated in his Wednesday piece, because the two had a good working relationship in Tennessee.
Mike Vrabel’s resume may entice the Las Vegas Raiders.
Vrabel lacks the sparkle and glamour that surrounds Harbaugh’s name, but he has an established resume that says he’s a capable head coach.
Vrabel did not have a star quarterback throughout his six seasons, and only two of his offenses finished in the top ten in scoring. Nonetheless, he led Tennessee to the playoffs in three consecutive seasons (2019-2021), including two division titles (2020-2021) and a trip to the AFC Championship Game in 2019.
Vrabel became the Titans’ first head coach to win a championship in 2021. Coach of the Year in the National Football League:
If Davis wants Harbaugh but fails to land him, he may at least interview Vrabel as part of the selection process.
Aside from his resume, Vrabel has a link to Tom Brady, who owns a share in Davis’ WNBA team, the Las Vegas Aces.
A person’s connections, like in any other employment field, might open opportunities. If Davis respects Brady’s football intellect, he might hear a lot of good things about Vrabel from the seven-time Super Bowl champion.
Brady and Vrabel were teammates on the New England Patriots from 2001 to 2008, winning three Super Bowls together.
Davis appeared to distance himself from the “Patriot Way” when he fired general manager Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels in the middle of the season.
Raiders fans who are tired of the “Patriot Way” infiltrating the franchise’s culture should recall that Vrabel played under Bill Belichick, but his coaching style has nothing to do with the “Patriot Way.”
Vrabel rose up the ranks at Ohio State as a linebackers and defensive line coach, working with former Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer for two of his three years there. Following that, he worked as a linebackers coach for the Houston Texans under Bill O’Brien from 2014 to 2016, before becoming the team’s defensive coordinator in 2017.
Vrabel built his own coaching style in Tennessee, and it comes out as more of a player’s coach than an authoritarian, which sounds similar to Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce’s approach.
While Pierce appears to be the most plausible head-coaching option if Davis does not land Harbaugh, don’t rule out the potential that Brady recommends Vrabel, who has a terrific resume.
Teams can interview Vrabel in person for a job position because he is no longer employed by an NFL club. Remember that league-employed coaches cannot conduct in-person interviews until after the divisional round of the playoffs.
Given Vrabel’s high demand, Davis may schedule an interview with him sooner rather than later.
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