Mike Florio spotlights possibility that Mike Vrabel "played" Titans owner into firing him

Mike Vrabel has had better offseasons. The former head coach started his 2024 offseason by losing his position with the Tennessee Titans in a somewhat surprising move. However, perhaps it wasn't quite as surprising to the head coach as it appeared.

Speaking on "Pro Football Talk," NFL analyst Mike Florio failed to rule out the possibility that the Titans head coach simply wanted out. Here's how he put it:

"[00:00:23] I think things irrelevant to Vrabel's coaching ability clouded her (Amy Adams Strunk) judgment, and she decided she needed to move on. And I don't think she should have.

"Now, maybe Mike Vrabel just played her. Maybe he wanted out. Remember when it first happened? We thought he was trying to get to New England. That didn't work, but maybe he was ready to move on. [00:01:04]"

Most head coach contracts allow for some kind of guarantee if the team moves on first. If the coach quits the position outright, a lot of those guarantees go up in smoke. However, if a coach gets fired, they often can bank on having a salary for additional years.

If they go to another team, they can draw a paycheck from a big buyout.

Mike Vrabel's rise and fall with Tennessee Titans

Mike Vrabel at Tennessee Titans v Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Whatever the reasons for Mike Vrabel's departure, he sits as a head coach veteran with a recent history of decent success in the NFL. The former head coach is credited with taking the team from the Marcus Mariota experiment that had its moments but still served as a fringe Wild Card team to one of the top teams in the AFC.

Their moment in the sun was brief, but it came after the head coach decided to bench Marcus Mariota for Ryan Tannehill in 2019. The team was 2-4 under Mariota and while many coaches would have waited longer, Vrabel made a change less than two months into his first year as head coach.

At the end of his first year with the team, Vrabel had gotten the team to the AFC Championship game. His next two years saw stronger regular season campaigns, but weaker playoff runs with a Wild Card loss and a Divisional Round loss.

In 2022, the Tennessee Titans head coach went 7-10 and this year, he slipped to 6-11. After two years of struggle, the former head coach is looking to see if his highs can convince any teams to bite.

If any of the above quotes are used, credit "Pro Football Talk" and H/T Sportskeeda.