Levis or Vrabel: The Titans’ Conundrum
A rookie gunslinger and a coach on the hot seat with a coaching style from a bygone era of football. Sounds like a great movie plot, but for Tennessee Titans fans it seems like another nightmare reoccurring weekly in their own horror film.
Tennessee fell to the Steelers in Pittsburgh 20-16 in typical Titans fashion and are now 3-5 on the season and dead last in the AFC South behind the Colts. Handing the ball off on 3rd and long to settle for a field goal instead of giving the big arm a chance to score more points once again resulted in a loss. But there are rumors going around that will make all Titans fan’s ears perk: according to Ben Volin at the Boston Globe, the Patriots might be interested in trading draft capital for Vrabel. Sources close to the Patriots believe Kraft wants Vrabel as Belichick’s successor. And who better? They run the same 90’s game plan. More on that later.
Hear me out on why this could be a great thing for the new sheriff in town - Will Levis.
Offense? You mean special teams?
Stop the run, run the ball three times and settle for a field goal. Rinse and repeat. This may have worked earlier in the NFL when quarterbacks weren’t throwing it 50 times a game and defensive backs could actually play defense. But now you get a pass interference call for breathing on a receiver or even looking at the quarterback the wrong way. As Bob Dylan once sang, “Times are a-changin’” but Vrabel sure isn’t and the Titan’s record the past few seasons reflect that.
Tannehill finished the season last year with a paltry 2,536 yards passing and the leading wide receiver was ROBERT WOODS with a scant 527 yards in 2022. Even worse is where the Titans finished in total offense, with only the Texans and Rams being slightly more anemic at moving the ball. 2023 is seeing an uptick, but everyone knows who is responsible for that, as big Jeff once said when mic’d up: “That damn Will can play, man”.
Now that the protagonist has arrived in the form of a strong-armed young gunslinger in Will Levis, Vrabel has refused to give him the nod- Even though it’s obvious Levis is the Titans guy in the future. Maybe this is Vrabel’s way to get out and head back to New England to team up with Robert Kraft or maybe he really is just that stubborn but either way, bringing in a new coach who will adapt to this new passing game is only going to grow Levis’ ceiling. And it will also be a refresher when going into a full rebuild next season knowing the Titans will utilize that cannon arm and compete against teams like the Chiefs and Eagles who can run up the score instead of playing not to lose and settle for field goals.
10-15 in Two Seasons
Mike Vrabel is 3 -12 stretching back to last season after losing 7 straight to end the 2022 season. A lot of media continually state Vrabel isn’t on the hot seat yet, and maybe not, but coaches have been fired for far less.
With a new coach who can open up the offense and utilize the young talent on the roster, this team could compete with all the other young teams and possibly build something to last. But if Vrabel stays, I think it’s predictable that Levis’ will be shoe-stringed into an offense that doesn’t fit his skill or even this decade. Maybe there’s some substance to the rumors, and Ran knows it’s time for a coaching overhaul because the seat has been hot for two seasons now.
Nashville is still growing, but it’s still not big enough for both Levis and Vrabel.
