Insider sheds light on why the Titans actually fired Mike Vrabel

Many had speculated that Mike Vrabel would not return as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2024, but presumably very few expected him to actually be outright fired.

But that’s exactly what the Titans did on Tuesday morning, parting ways with Vrabel, who’s just two seasons removed from being named the Associated Press’ NFL Coach of the Year. 

Trading Vrabel, who’s now the top free-agent coaching candidate on the market, seemed like the route the Titans would take if they did move on from the 48-year-old, but The Athletic’s Dianna Russini revealed that option presented too many hurdles.

“The Titans believed trading Vrabel was too complicated and would take too long, per sources,” Russini tweeted. “They wanted to move on quickly. I was told Vrabel never asked ownership for a trade or asked out of Tennessee.”

Vrabel had a 54-45 record in six seasons with the Titans with four straight winning seasons, three playoff appearances, two division titles and an AFC Championship game appearance. He has the third-most wins in franchise history behind Jeff Fisher (110) and Bum Phillips (55) and the third-best win percentage (.545) among coaches with 90 or more games.