Mike Vrabel lost his job in Tennessee in January, but it didn't take him long to find more work in football.
The former Titans head coach and Houston Texans defensive coordinator is back in the NFL as a consultant with the Cleveland Browns, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Friday. Vrabel spent the week in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine with the Browns, and will now work with Kevin Stefanski's staff in Cleveland in 2024.
Vrabel's six-year run in Nashville came to an end following the conclusion of a difficult season in which the coach replaced veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill with rookie Will LevisĀ and attempted to make the best of an adverse situation. Tennessee competed, but ultimately fell victim to its circumstances, finishing 6-11 before the club fired Vrabel.
He brings with him 14 years of playing experience, in which he won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and earned a first-team All-Pro selection (2007) before transitioning to coaching. He began coaching as an assistant at his alma mater, Ohio State, before joining the staff in Houston as a linebackers coach in 2014. He ascended to defensive coordinator in 2017 before taking the head job in Tennessee, where he served from 2018 to 2023, leading the Titans to three straight playoff appearances from 2019-2021, winning NFL Coach of the Year honors in 2021 and posting a 54-45 regular season record.
With a decade of coaching experience and even more gained as a player, Vrabel has plenty of wisdom to lend to Stefanski and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who oversaw a tremendous defensive turnaround in his first season in Cleveland in 2023. We'll see if the Northeast Ohio native's inclusion can help the Browns return to the postseason for a second straight season in 2024.
