On Mike Vrabel's status, won't all these sources get on the same page already | Estes
Either Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel isn’t going anywhere, or he’s so fed up collaborating with general manager Ran Carthon that he’s angling to be traded to another team.
It’s one of the two.
Sources say.
And hey, that’s just in the past week. Imagine the fun we could be having with this a month from now. Here’s hoping league sources make up their minds before then.
They talked to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini for a strongly worded report on Thanksgiving that ruled out the possibility of the Titans firing or trading Vrabel.
“Not happening,” Russini wrote.
OK.
Evidently, far different league sources contributed to a spicy report three days later from Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal that called Carthon’s job performance into question while relaying that “Vrabel could be looking for a way to force his way out of Tennessee.”
Um . . . OK.
Both Russini and Bedard are long-respected NFL journalists. I don’t believe either report was entirely wrong.
As is usually the case, it’ll land somewhere in the middle.
Regarding Russini’s report, a lot can still happen. Although I don’t believe the Titans are looking to move on from Vrabel, it’s too soon to rule out anything with six games left in an underwhelming season, given owner Amy Adams Strunk's track record. Remember Mike Mularkey, anyone?
Regarding the Boston report, I’d agree the partnership of Vrabel and Carthon hasn’t purred like a Porsche. But the Titans aren’t a Porsche. They are more like an old Pontiac that needs to be traded in for a newer, sleeker machine. Things are seldom peachy when a franchise is losing. But, more importantly, if the Titans don’t want to trade Vrabel, how exactly would he “force” them?
‘We’re not like this horrible team’
Reasoned takes, I know, don’t sizzle in the stew of hysteria and negativity that has bubbled out of the Titans’ slide into mediocrity.
I’m not talking about the team itself. Actually, the team has been in positive spirits this week, having just beaten the Carolina Panthers in advance of Sunday’s rematch with the rival Indianapolis Colts at Nissan Stadium.
“Can you feel (a better energy) a little bit in the locker room?” defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons said Wednesday. “I mean, I felt it when I walked in here Monday.”
“(A win) helps guys bring along that confidence going into the next week,” guard Daniel Brunskill echoed, “like, 'You know, hey, we're not like this horrible team.’ ”
Even Vrabel is sounding more cheerful of late, noting how players celebrated at one point during the Panthers game and that, “It’s OK to be excited. We put a lot of work into this.”
I asked Vrabel if he sometimes needed to remind himself of the same.
“Yeah, probably,” he replied.
Outside the team, a different vibe
Titans fans? Different vibe. The fans are too angry and too disappointed and the offense can’t block anybody and the defense can’t stop anybody and everything sucks so much and, oh my gosh, did you HEAR what that writer in Boston said about how Vrabel and Carthon aren’t getting along?
If you’ve flipped on a sports-talk radio show in Nashville — pretty much any of them — the past few days and weeks, I don’t know how you wouldn't have heard all of this about the terrible Titans.
Know what you haven’t heard — and probably won’t?
Adams Strunk’s thoughts on her team. She doesn’t typically bother to talk to Titans fans through unfiltered, independent media. Even when she was trying to get a downtown stadium built.
Haven’t heard much lately from Carthon, either. Thus far, he has largely eschewed local media in favor of national outlets.
Sources!
Sources are all that's there for grumbling Titans fans in search of answers.
Hopefully, for everyone's sake, they’ll get on the same page soon.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Job rumors about Mike Vrabel and Tennessee Titans aren't going away
