For all the talk of Derrick Henry getting into the MVP discussion, we’re nine games into the NFL season, and I think it’s high time we put Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel into the conversation for ‘Coach of the Year.’ Titans fans have seen Vrabel grow over his three and a half seasons as a head coach in the NFL from a guy who was maybe a bit overzealous…maybe too aggressive…to a guy who has firmly instilled his football team with his no nonsense, “next man up” attitude. Few teams, if any, in the NFL take on the character of their head coach like the Titans do with Vrabel. At 7-2 and the current #1 seed in the AFC, he deserves a ton of credit for his role in making the Titans legitimate Super Bowl contender.
We’ve seen his decision-making and adaptability progress tremendously throughout the years – from the guy who aggressively went for two to beat the Chargers in London and failed, to the guy who shows a little more savvy in such situations. He developed a knack for knowing when to go for it on 4th down and when to play it conservatively. Now, that’s not to say he’s perfect – no one is. But, it’s part of the game that he’s gotten much better at after being the main point of criticism in his early days with the Titans.
Now, I don’t even really know what you’d consider his biggest weakness to be. Does he have one? I would’ve said “being loyal to Shane Bowen,” but that seems to be yielding dividends this season, as Bowen is having a fantastic season and is dancing on the graves of the morons like me who questioned him. He’s installed a calm, collected ‘next man up’ culture in Nashville that has trickled onto the field in this team’s way of never really getting too worked up. I’m pretty sure he knows the NFL rule book better than most officials. He is the quintessential leader of men – the players want to play for him. Hell, I’m just writing this blog post and I’m ready to ram my head through a window for this man. But, it’s always about the players with him – I can’t tell you how many times he’s mentioned what an honor it is to coach his players in press conferences or postgame locker room speeches. He doesn’t throw guys under the bus – he protects guys. And, of course, he has the perspective of a former elite player in this league. Guys just want to play for him.
Cris Collinsworth said something interesting about Vrabel not really believing in a scheme, just getting big guys to pound the ball with. Most of what the broadcast booth was spewing on Sunday night was barely passable as information. But, that’s neither here nor there. This stuck with me because I think it highlights a basic principle of leadership that Vrabel doesn’t get enough credit for (also, I think it’s dumb to suggest that Vrabel doesn’t care about scheme at all). There’s still a path to success in the NFL by simply lining up, playing a physical brand of football, beating people up, and finding ways to win. That still counts for something in the NFL.
Has the league become so obsessed with scheme that it’s forgotten how important the basic principles of leadership and motivating players are? Teams want to hire anyone who has ever had a cup of coffee with Sean McVay, but there’s something to be said for simply getting some hosses in the locker room, getting ’em to buy in, and building a winning culture around them. Vrabel is the gold standard in this league when it comes rallying the troops – for that, and for the marked improvement he continues to show, he absolutely deserves to be in the ‘Coach of the Year’ conversation.
Plus, he’s also willing to cut his own dick off to win a Super Bowl as a head coach. I wasn’t going to bring it up because that news cycle has finally died down and I’m sure he wants us to forget he ever said it. We’re not making jokes about it anymore. But, I feel like it could be an illustration of how dedicated he is to winning. Also, if he’s willing to do that, he might be willing to sell his soul in exchange for a Super Bowl ring, and if he’s done that, then I’d like to know so I can start planning my trip to Los Angeles for the Super Bowl. Regardless, I don’t see any other NFL coaches chopping their cod off to get a Super Bowl ring – it’s just another metric that he is vastly superior to every other NFL coach in.
Also, I don’t know of any other coaches with the ass of a Kardashian that has a captivating and mesmerizing effect on the WAGs of Titans fans nationwide:
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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