How Tennessee Titans players are reacting to uncertainty of Mike Vrabel's job status
Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis was sick of hearing rumors about Mike Vrabel's job status. So he sought answers from Vrabel directly.
"He’s gonna communicate with us as soon as he knows," Levis said from the Titans' locker room Monday. "But I know he wants to be here."
One day after the Titans' season ended with a 28-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, uncertainty continues to swirl about whether Vrabel will return to the Titans for 2024. Vrabel did not speak to the media Monday following the end of the Titans' 6-11 season, breaking convention. But many of his players did speak about the rumors connecting Vrabel to coaching jobs in the league, namely a potential opening with the New England Patriots, and the Titans' reported openness to trading the former NFL Coach of the Year after six years in Nashville.
"'I believe in coach Vrabel's message to us and sometimes things just don't happen the way they're supposed to happen," defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons said. "Hopefully going forward he is our coach. This is a business so I don't know what may happen. I'm not hearing anything."
REQUIRED READING: It's on Amy Adams Strunk to clean a Tennessee Titans mess of her creation | Estes
What Tennessee Titans players said about Mike Vrabel's job status
Ask any player in the locker room for Monday's cleanout and they'd give an answer similar to Simmons'. The players don't know what's going to happen, but they want Vrabel to stick around.
Vrabel is expected to speak with media later this week. Until Vrabel speaks or a news development breaks, players say they don't expect clarity on a difficult situation.
"I love Vrabes. He’s an awesome guy," guard Daniel Brunskill said. "I would love to have him as our coach going forward because he’s a great locker room guy being a former player and understanding everything we’ve gone through as players. I couldn’t tell you much more than that. I wish I could. But we don’t get much more information than that as players."
"Obviously I think he’s a great coach," linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair added. "The way he’s been about his business from the time I’ve met him speaks volumes about why people have the opinion about him that they did, which made me want to come here as well just hearing about the type of coach that he was and the type of person that he was. I have the most respect for him. I obviously don’t make those decisions but I would hope that he is the head coach."
Defensive end Rashad Weaver said communication with Vrabel has been business-as-usual even as speculation has grown louder and louder on social media. He said conversations with Vrabel haven't carried the same tone as, say, running back Derrick Henry talking to the media about being at the end of his contract. Unlike Henry, who spoke Sunday about not knowing what could be next and understanding his time with the Titans could be ending, Weaver feels Vrabel is continuing to talk as if nothing is different.
REQUIRED READING: Derrick Henry, with deal expiring, still wants 1 thing before Tennessee Titans career ends
As of Monday morning, Titans players and coaches hadn't met as a team, but some players say they've had individual meetings with Vrabel and/or general manager Ran Carthon. Receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine said there have been years when the Titans would have their team meeting by Monday morning, but he also noted that this season, the only one in his tenure in which the Titans weren't in playoff contention heading into the final week, has been on a different schedule in a lot of ways.
Plenty can change. Levis counts himself among the many who doesn't want it to.
"I love everyone in this building," Levis said. "I hope it stays the same and I hope that we’re all able to grow and all able to stick together. Obviously I don’t have a say in any of those types of things. But hopefully it stays together and we’re able to keep this thing rolling."
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: Will Levis, Tennessee Titans players react to Mike Vrabel job rumors
