While Michigan superfan Rich Eisen and former Wolverines offensive tackle Taylor Lewan celebrated their alma mater’s National Championship win on Monday night in Houston, unexpected news was revealed on air, catching them both off guard.
On Tuesday, Lewan received some breaking news that hit close to home. He discovered his former head coach, Mike Vrabel, had been fired. Will Compton attempted to inform Lewan of the news by mouthing it, while Lewan, who said he was trying to be respectful by not listening to his Bussin with the Boys co-host, focused on Eisen.
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“Mike Vrabel is fired?” asked Lewan, visibly displeased, as he immediately sunken into his chair.
“That is, that is nuts,” he continued. “I knew there was some clamoring going on in the inside. I talked to a couple of guys. Obviously, I have some relationships with the Titans. As the season was unfolding, to me it was very clear that (Vrabel) was not the problem. The talent — it just wasn’t a team that was filled with enough talent to be truly competitive in the NFL at that point. That was just the reality of the situation, and you could point a lot of fingers. And I didn’t think the finger you could truly point at was Vrabel.
“He’s a guy — damn, Rich. I can’t believe this is happening while we’re talking. Oh my God.”
Vrabel took over as head coach of the Titans in 2018 and led them to four consecutive winning seasons. However, in the last two seasons, the Titans have finished with multiple games below .500. Additionally, the team’s scoring offense has been ranked No. 27 or worse in three out of six seasons under Vrabel’s leadership.
Therefore, Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk thought it was time for a new voice to lead the locker room.
“He’s the absolute best is what he is,” said Lewan. “And under Vrabel, we were at an AFC Championship. We were in position to be contenders for a Super Bowl. Now, you’ve had a lot of changing of the guard. I left last year. Ben Jones, who was a center for seven years, left. We had a mishap with Julio Jones. We traded away (A.J. Brown), which was not what Vrabel wanted. You could see it in the War Room during the draft. And you trade away Kevin Byard, and so really, your only pillar is Harold Landry and Jefferey Simmons, guys that have been there long enough to carry the torch of the defense.”
Lewan’s criticism of player departures merits consideration. Losing veterans like Ben Jones and key playmakers like A.J. Brown and Kevin Byard undoubtedly weakens the roster. The Julio Jones saga and perceived discord over the Brown trade raise troubling questions about player management and decision-making.
“I love Amy, and I love that franchise. I think they just made a mistake. I think they just made a big mistake,” Lewan added. “Vrabel is gonna be just fine. Of all NFL coaches, he’s gonna be the No. 1 (candidate) that the Raiders, the Chargers, the Bears, the Panthers, the Commanders, the Patriots — all those teams are going to look at now and say, ‘We want Mike Vrabel. We need Mike Vrabel,’ because he knows he can instill a culture and he can win games. I think the only person you’d put above Mike in the search for a head coach in these vacancies in the franchise is gonna be Jim Harbaugh because of what he was able to accomplish — going to a Super Bowl and then winning a National Championship. He’s just a more proven head coach at this point, but I think that is a mistake. I think that is a crazy mistake.”
Lewan rightly emphasizes Vrabel’s transformative role. Bringing the Titans to an AFC Championship appearance proves his ability to build a competitive team. His focus on culture resonates with players like Lewan, fostering a winning mentality. The potential poaching by multiple teams underscores Vrabel’s value in the coaching landscape.
“I cannot believe it,” Lewan continued.
Eisen floated the idea that those in Columbus could be clamoring for Vrabel to take over the Ohio State football program, a la Jim Hrabugh. Lewan quickly pushed back against that idea.
“Vrabs is not going to college,” he said. “I’ve asked him…Vrabel’s personality — could he be successful in college? Could he win a National Championship? No quesh (sic), as Vrabel would say…But all the political BS you gotta deal with the NILs; you’re dealing with kids, and I say that very, very loosely because now there are seven-year seniors. But if your job is predicated on the development t and value of 18 to 22-year-olds, that is a very different ballgame than having paid professionals who are expected to do a job and have an expectation. It’s very different.
“I don’t see him going to college. It would be nuts. I would be absolutely terrified if he did go (to Ohio State) because Vrabel is that dude. But the Patriots, listen, I wouldn’t want to go to the Patriots. Why would you want to be the head coach of the Patriots? You’re gonna come and take over (for) the best coach of all time? You’re gonna take over that?”
Lewan said if he were Vrabel, he’d want to go to the Las Vegas Raiders or Los Angeles Chargers. So with that, only time would tell if the Titans made the right decision, but one thing was sure: the NFL landscape had just shifted significantly.
