11 dominoes that led to Mike Vrabel being fired as Tennessee Titans coach

The Tennessee Titans' divorce from coach Mike Vrabel didn't happen overnight. It was a result of two years of losses, injuries, decisions, friction and frustrations that turned the Titans from one of the most physical, fierce and feared teams in the AFC to a bottom-feeder finishing in last place in one of the NFL's worst divisions.

Before the Titans begin their search for Vrabel's replacement, take a look back at what led to his tenure ending this way. Here are 11 moments that ended Vrabel's six-year tenure as coach of the Titans.

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Titans lose in AFC Divisional Round vs. Bengals (Jan. 22, 2022)

This was the beginning of the end. The Titans had home-field advantage through the playoffs. They already had beaten the two teams on the other side of the AFC playoff bracket and the two teams that went on to make the NFC Championship Game. The path to a Super Bowl was there. But it didn't materialize. The Titans lost to the Bengals 19-16 at home, ending a great season and starting an offseason of uncertainty.

Titans trade A.J. Brown (April 28, 2022)

If the loss to the Bengals was the beginning of the end, this was the beginning of the downfall. When the TV cameras cut into the Titans' draft room on draft night, Vrabel couldn't hide his disappointment or disgust with then-general manager Jon Robinson's decision to trade receiver A.J. Brown. The move weakened the Titans' roster and limited what the team could do offensively by depriving it of its best young offensive weapon.

Ryan Tannehill gets hurt, Malik Willis struggles (October-November 2022)

The one injury the Titans couldn't withstand in 2022 was the one to quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened. Third-round draft pick Malik Willis came in as his replacement with high potential and promise. But the rookie struggled to find a rhythm and stay in operation as a pro quarterback, leading to the Titans losing some winnable games.

A.J. Brown's Eagles embarrass the Titans, leading to Jon Robinson's firing (Dec. 4-6, 2022)

The Eagles crushed the Titans 35-10 in Philadelphia on Dec. 4, a game in which Brown caught eight passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns. He simulated a whipping motion with a towel against the goal post after one of his scores, saying he needed to give his old team "a whupping." Two days later, Robinson was fired as the Titans' general manager.

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Week 18 ends a dreadful streak (Jan. 7, 2023)

The Titans lost seven in a row, finishing 7-10 and out of the playoffs to close the 2022 season that began 7-3. With Tannehill injured again and the team needing a Week 18 win in Jacksonville for a third straight AFC South title, journeyman quarterback Joshua Dobbs was unable to complete the task, ending Vrabel's playoffs streak at three.

Titans hire Ran Carthon as general manager (Jan. 17, 2023)

Controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk hired former San Francisco 49ers director of pro personnel Ran Carthon as the Titans' GM in January. Carthon spoke confidently about how his No. 1 priority was collaborating with Vrabel. A year later, collaboration was the Titans' major point of contention in moving on from Vrabel.

Friction with some of the Titans' top players (summer 2023)

Carthon's first offseason as GM included some tense moments, with reports circulating about the Titans trying to trade stars Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill, and about asking safety Kevin Byard to consider taking a pay cut. Vrabel mostly deferred to Carthon on questions about those matters, but Byard's absence from OTAs shaped plenty of the discussion about the team heading into the 2023 season.

Mike Vrabel returns to New England (Oct. 22, 2023)

During the Titans' bye week, Vrabel returned to New England, where he won three Super Bowls as a player, to be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame. Vrabel spent that game sitting in the owner's box with Patriots owner Robert Kraft and made some news when in his acceptance speech, he told Patriots fans: "Enjoy this. It's not like this everywhere."

Titans trade Kevin Byard (Oct. 23, 2023)

Byard, a five-time team captain and arguably the most important defensive player of the Vrabel era, ended up in Philadelphia with former teammate A.J. Brown ahead of the trade deadline. Vrabel said he called Byard to talk about the trade. Though the Titans didn't deal anyone else at the deadline, shipping off a cornerstone piece of the team reshaped the roster, and again made it harder to win games.

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Mike Vrabel addresses the rumors (Jan. 3, 2024)

In the days and weeks following the Byard trade and Vrabel's comments in New England, reports began to trickle out about friction in Vrabel and Carthon's relationship. Vrabel was asked about those rumors ahead of the Titans' Week 18 game. He said he wants to stay in Nashville "as long as (the Titans) can win" and said it's still his goal to compete for a Super Bowl alongside Carthon.

The end (Jan. 9, 2024)

Adams Strunk fired Vrabel Tuesday morning after two days of internal conversations among top Titans brass. Vrabel finished his Titans tenure 54-45 with two division titles, three playoff appearances and an AFC Championship berth. The Titans lost 18 of their final 24 games with Vrabel in charge. The search for their next head coach begins immediately.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 11 dominoes that led to Mike Vrabel's firing as Tennessee Titans coach