While a lot of the head coach firings that took place towards the end of the NFL season made a lot of sense, Tennessee’s firing of head coach Mike Vrabel after six seasons caught people off guard.
In the days that followed, there were plenty of stories, like the one written by Dianna Russini and Joe Rexrode in The Athletic, about the poor communication, misinterpreted statements, and misunderstandings that led to the shock firing.
A few weeks after the dust had settled, it also appeared that Vrabel was not going to be hired by any other NFL team despite going 54-45 and leading the Titans to three playoff berths. Appearing on the latest episode of The Athletic Football Show, Russini shared some potential insight into why that was.
“I don’t think that there was a fit for him. I don’t think he sat in front of any owner who thought that his style was going to work for what they were looking for,” Russini said. “Do you know I had a GM at the Senior Bowl who mentioned to me Vrabel’s physical build? That he’s a very large human being and can be very intimidating to people in an organization that are going to be part of these decisions. And that is a factor. Which, I laughed. I said, “Stop. That’s not something that’s real. Who cares what someone physically looks like?
“And he said, ‘I’m just telling you, I’ve been in rooms, and somebody’s physical presence can make a difference.”
Why was Mike Vrabel passed on this coaching cycle?
An anonymous GM tells @DMRussini that Vrabel's physical stature may have been a factor.
"He's a very large human being. And can be very intimidating to people in an organization."
More: https://t.co/EUS84yimLV pic.twitter.com/5YQOygHlEu
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 6, 2024
That anecdote then got aggregated, stripped of context, and summed up as “Mike Vrabel too big to work” and took off on social media. Russini tried to dispel the notion but it was a little too late (And to be fair, The Athletic’s social media team didn’t do Russini any favors with the initial framing).
Unfortunately, Vrabel caught wind of the aggregated version and was not too happy with Russini about it.
https://www.tiktok.com/@barstoolsports/video/7343343090461052190?lang=en
“He called me the day after an aggregator took something I said that basically said Mike Vrabel is too fat to work,” Russini told Pardon My Take when asked if a player or coach has ever gotten mad at her over her reporting.
“What I shared on [The Athletic Football Show] was that I had dinner with a GM at the Senior Bowl and we had conversations about how bizarre this last coaching cycle was. And how crazy it was that Belichick and Vrabel didn’t have gigs. And I said ‘Why do you think that Mike didn’t get a job?’ He said ‘I think they needed a change there in Tennessee’ but in terms of the next opportunity, I think there’s a lot of people who are very intimidated by him. He walks into a room and he’s confident and he’s physically a big human being and it’s a little startling at first. Very normal, right? When I say this to you?… His hands are the size of your head.
“So when the aggregators took that and changed all this, you know, the way I said it, so that wasn’t great to hear from a not-too-happy head coach, to begin with… He didn’t call me after the piece we did on why he got fired. But the piece…calling him a little fat, he wasn’t too happy.”
A good reminder for those of us out there in the aggregation game. Take care of those who provide content for you, lest you put them in a bad spot because of the context you removed.