Mike Vrabel won’t coach in the NFL next season. A little less than a month ago, the Tennessee Titans fired Vrabel after six seasons, and it was assumed that he’d be one of the hottest names on the coaching market. And then, jobs started getting filled left and right, with Vrabel repeatedly getting passed up for someone else.
It was a bit of a surprise, as the consensus seemed to be that Vrabel helped the Titans punch above their weight for years before missing out on the playoffs the last two seasons. But ultimately, the dominoes fell in such a way that he’s going to spend the 2024 season either chilling at home or picking up a coordinator role, and according to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, there’s at least one NFL executive who believes Vrabel being a big fella cost him a job.
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— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) February 5, 2024
“You know, I had a GM at the Senior Bowl who mentioned to me Vrabel’s physical build,” Russini said on the latest edition of The Athletic Football Show. “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 presence.’”
Russini did float the possibility of Vrabel spending this year as a defensive coordinator somewhere, and mentioned there might be interest there. Vrabel, of course, was an All-Pro linebacker with the New England Patriots, and Wikipedia tells me that he comes in at about 6’4 and 261 points, which is objectively a huge person. However, football is a sport filled with gigantic people, so if you want someone who played the game to coach your team, in all likelihood they are going to be a physically imposing human being. As such, if you’re a football team that believes in having a coach who is gigantic, I have very good news about a coach who is available.