Why Titans fired Mike Vrabel, paving way for Patriots return and Super Bowl trip

As Mike Vrabel leads the New England Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance in his first season on the job, there is no shortage of people who can't understand how the Tennessee Titans fired him a few years back.

Vrabel was hired by the Titans in 2018 and led the team to two 9-7 campaigns and three playoff wins in that span. The 2019 campaign was especially impressive, as Tennessee defied the odds to make it to the AFC Championship Game before the Cinderella story ended with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Over the next two seasons, Tennessee posted a 23-10 regular-season record, won the AFC South both years and even earned the No. 1 seed in the conference in 2021.

However, the Titans were not able to recapture their 2019 glory and were one-and-done in the postseason both times.

And that was the beginning of the end for Vrabel in Tennessee.

Why Titans fired Mike Vrabel

There isn't just one reason why Vrabel was fired. Instead, it was a combination of things and a series of events that led to him getting canned.

The Titans fell hard and fast following their 12-win 2021 season.

Tennessee finished 7-10 and 6-11 over the next two seasons, and Vrabel went 6-18 over his final 24 contests as the head coach of the Titans.

However, Vrabel was hardly to blame for that downfall.

Instead, most of the blame is on former general manager Jon Robinson, who made so many bad personnel decisions that Vrabel wasn't a fan of, including the terrible trade of wide receiver A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles.

After Robinson was fired, Vrabel was looking for more power when it comes to personnel decisions, but that was not granted and that led to tension with Tennessee's owner, Amy Adams Strunk — and it snowballed from there.

The Titans went on to hire Ran Carthon as their next general manager instead of Vrabel's top choice, Ryan Cowden, who Vrabel was close with.

Vrabel didn't feel like Carthon was ready for the job and reports suggested they were often at odds. Vrabel ended up being proven correct about Carthon, as his tenure was disastrous before he was fired during the season in 2024.

Other issues that helped pave the way for Vrabel to get fired was his insistence on sticking with assistants who were clearly bad at their job (like Todd Downing and Craig Aukerman) and his reluctance to take part in a much-needed rebuild.

Since firing Vrabel, the Titans have hired two head coaches. Vrabel's replacement, Brian Callahan, didn't make it past two seasons and now Robert Saleh is at the helm.

Meanwhile, Vrabel worked in an advisory role with the Cleveland Browns for one season before landing the Patriots gig. Now, he'll look to accomplish a feat he fell short of in Tennessee: winning a Super Bowl.

More NFL news

• Cardinals trade rumor could lead to deal with Steelers, Vikings or Browns
• Aaron Rodgers career update is great news for Pittsburgh Steelers
• 49ers trade rumor is crushing blow to possible deal with Vikings, Falcons
• Maxx Crosby isn't ruling out interesting career change down the line
• Travis Kelce rumor offers update on Chiefs superstar's future plans
• Maxx Crosby trade rumor is good news for Pats, Eagles, Cowboys