Tag: Mike Vrabel

Ohio State fans want Mike Vrabel as a coach after losing to Michigan again

Is it Mike Vrabel time for Ohio State?

Ohio State fans seem pretty tired of Ryan Day, and there’s one man whose name will only grow more popular in Columbus in the weeks to come.

Former Buckeyes player and coach Mike Vrabel is currently a consultant with the Cleveland Browns, but he’s going to be a popular candidate to take over in Columbus if the school parts ways with Day after the season.

Of course, Day could still win a national title with Ohio State in the 2024 College Football Playoffs and make this whole conversation moot.

However, it might require a championship to keep Buckeyes fans from yearning for someone like Vrabel, since Day has struggled so much against Michigan over the years.

Vrabel found success with the Tennessee Titans as their head coach, so it’d make sense for him to want another NFL job in the 2025 cycle.

However, if he wants to go back home to Ohio State, the New England Patriots legend might have a red carpet welcome for him if Day can’t bring a championship back to Columbus this winter and gets fired.

At the least, Ohio State fans are dreaming of a Vrabel return, and folks are making the connection.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1372]

DT Cam Heyward blasts Urban Meyer for Ohio State alumni disrespect

Cam Heyward criticizes Urban Meyer for dismissing alumni like Mike Vrabel and praises Ryan Day for restoring Ohio State’s connections.

It is safe to say Pittsburgh Steelers DT Cam Heyward may share something in common with much of the Jacksonville Jaguars fanbase: their dislike of former HC Urban Meyer.

On the defensive tackle’s podcast, Not Just Football with Cam Heyward, the veteran Steeler was asked his opinion on the recent comments fellow Ohio State alumnus Mike Vrabel made about Meyer. Vrabel had worked with Meyer, who was the head coach of Ohio State from 2012 to 2018 and defensive line coach from 2012 to 2013, but when the two met in the NFL, Meyer pretended he didn’t know who he was.

Heyward didn’t hold back with his comments: “I got a lot of respect for Vrabes, so to hear someone like Urban Meyer, who won a championship with that guy, kind of spit in his face with that comment, I’m not for that. There’s a reason why when I left there, there was a drop-off in communication with alumni.”

Heyward continued to air his frustrations with Meyer but credited current Ohio State HC Ryan Day with repairing the damage Meyer had done.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Urban Meyer didn’t know who Mike Vrabel, fellow NFL coach and former employee, was

“Yeah, I’m the head coach for the Titans and I worked for you for two years.”

The Manning Cast alternate broadcast of Monday Night Football generally produces great football-adjacent stories. So too did the 13-game tenure of Urban Meyer as Jacksonville Jaguars head coach.

In Week 12, those two forces met in a tremendous, slightly baffling and yet completely believable story from longtime NFL mainstay Mike Vrabel.

Vrabel spent 14 seasons in the league as a linebacker and six as head coach of the Tennessee Titans. He spent another two as defensive line coach for Meyer’s Ohio State Buckeyes. But when the two met in 2021, Meyer took one look at the former All-Pro, NFL coach of the year and, importantly, his former employee and asked “do I know you?”

“Yeah, I’m the head coach for the Titans,” Vrabel told a chuckling Peyton and Eli Manning. “And I worked for you for two years.”

For any other head coach, most of whom have encyclopedic knowledge of the game and the main characters in it, this would be unbelievable. But given Meyer’s myriad ways to screw up just about anything related to his NFL tenure, this was pretty standard.

Meyer was bad enough to get fired two-thirds of the way through a season with the Jaguars, a franchise that gave Gus Bradley three-plus years at the helm. He was such a disaster we were able to publish an article here titled “12 times we told you Urban Meyer is the worst” and it still missed some of Meyer’s doofus-brained behavior.

Including, apparently, recognizing a division rival’s head coach who also happened to be one of his assistant coaches less than a decade earlier. Urban Meyer, man.

Browns growing a strong coaching tree under Kevin Stefanski

Three Browns coaches were named as future head coach candidates by Sports Illustrated.

Three Cleveland Browns coaches were named as future head coach candidates by Sports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated publishes an exhaustive list of head coaching candidates every year. The list highlights the best coordinators and position coaches in the NFL. 

Mike Vrabel was the first coach to see his name mentioned. The former head coach of the Titans will draw much interest across the NFL and college. The Ohio native is a popular name within the state as head coaches Kevin Stefanski, Zac Taylor and Ryan Day cycle through sitting on the hot seat. 

I would love to see him back in the scarlet and gray. Vrabel is an intelligent, tough, and honest coach. He can get a program back on track. Vrabel will have his pick of jobs come the winter.

Bubba Ventrone was the next Browns coach mentioned as a potential head coach. Sports Illustrated isolated special teams coordinators, who rarely get a chance to be a head coach, despite having more success than other coordinator roles. Ventrone has had a tough season in Cleveland – the special teams unit ranks near the bottom of the league.

Browns’ tight end coach, Tommy Rees, was the final coach listed. He was labeled as a newcomer to watch. Rees was the offensive coordinator for Notre Dame and Alabama before joining the Browns. It’ll be interesting to see if Rees rejoins the college ranks at the end of the season. 

The Browns aren’t likely to have a coaching search this season. However, a handful of former Browns coaches will be interviewing for head coach jobs this winter. Former Browns head coach, Bill Belichick, and quarterback coach, Drew Petzing are the two biggest names looking for a job. The NFL season is halfway over and organizations out of the playoff race must start building towards the 2026 season.

Browns: David Njoku takes hilarious shot at Stefanski and Vrabel at practice

Njoku takes a hilarious shot at his coaches

The hiring of former Coach of the Year Mike Vrabel is one of the more underrated moves of the Cleveland Browns‘ offseason. Since training camp started, he has been working closely with the tight ends, specifically David Njoku.

While being interviewed on Saturday during the game against the Packers, Njoku said that Vrabel is teaching him how to play smart football. Learning from a defensive mind like Vrabel will surely have benefits for Njoku after a breakout season with the Browns last year.

On Monday, the Browns posted a video to social media of Njoku taking a hilarious shot at his head coach, Kevin Stefanski, and Vrabel. He made a comment about the two of them being a “million dollar picture. Of course, after he walked away, he made the comment that both of them were ugly.

The Browns will host the Vikings on Wednesday and Thursday for joint practices in Berea.

David Njoku and Mike Vrabel developing into dynamic duo with Browns

The Pro Bowl tight end has been learning a lot from the veteran coach

Cleveland Browns star tight end David Njoku didn’t play in the first preseason game against the Packers on Saturday. In fact, most of the Browns starters and key contributors didn’t play, as the team is likely focusing on the joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings next week.

During the game, Njoku was interviewed on the sideline and asked about consultant Mike Vrabel and the work he has been doing with the budding star. The Chief said that Vrabel is a good guy and has been teaching him how to play smart football.

He also said Vrabel shows his old highlights, something he is proud of, and he does it to show them what greatness looks like. It’s been said a bunch of times already, but the experience and knowledge Vrabel brings to the table could turn out to be invaluable to the team.

Cleveland is looking to establish a consistent winning culture, and bringing in someone who has been around so much success is a great way to help build that culture.

Where are the Titans in the latest NFL power rankings?

While the Titans come in low, there is plenty of optimism.

The 2024 Tennessee Titans are one of the NFL’s most mysterious teams. Tennessee underwent more change this offseason than anyone in the NFL outside of the Washington Commanders.

The Titans fired a successful head coach to bring in a first-time head coach. Mike Vrabel’s time in Tennessee seemed to be nearing its end for a while. Not only had the Titans had back-to-back losing seasons, but there were some issues between Vrabel and ownership.

Enter Brian Callahan. Callahan comes to Tennessee with a reputation for developing quarterbacks, which makes him the perfect mentor for Will Levis. The Titans completely revamped the offensive side of the ball this offseason, bringing in players such as Calvin Ridley, Tony Pollard, Tyler Boyd, Lloyd Cushenberry, and JC Latham.

Tennessee also made significant changes to its defense. Rookie defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat, lined up next to Pro Bowl DT Jeffery Simmons, could quickly become the NFL’s best interior duo.

As we begin the first week of the preseason, the Titans and their new coaches and players are surrounded by many unknowns. How good can Tennessee be in 2024?

Eric Edholm of NFL.com released his preseason Week 1 power rankings and had the Titans at No. 28. While that sounds ominous, Edholm mentioned the unknowns surrounding the team and believes most of Tennessee’s changes are positive.

The Titans have undergone major changes on offense and defense, as well as to the coaching staff, and I don’t quite know what to think of all the upheaval yet. I’d say I am mostly positive, but will the makeover result in more wins? A ton obviously depends on Will Levis and his development this season, but you can’t say Tennessee hasn’t at least tried to insulate him well on offense. How it all comes together under a first-year head coach in Brian Callahan is anyone’s guess. There’s probably a wide span of possible results this season, given the sheer number of unknowns here. But I will say that anyone claiming the AFC South is weak might want to step back and measure it against other divisions. There are four teams here that have a shot to finish over .500. It’s not as strong top to bottom as the AFC North, but it might not be terribly far off, either.

That means Edholm believes the Titans are one of the NFL’s worst teams—for now. He sees hope, but many questions must be answered, and those questions begin and end at the quarterback position.

Mike Vrabel acknowledges the Browns cultural turnaround in recent years

Respect for the organization is a big part of Vrabel coming to Cleveland

It was a big surprise that after being fired from the Titans, no one offered former NFL Coach of the Year Mike Vrabel a head coaching job. Vrabel has been around a lot of football and knows what it takes to win it all from his playing days with the Patriots. Oh well, all to gain for the Cleveland Browns in the meantime.

It’s not often that a guy of this degree takes a consulting role for your team, but Cleveland was able to make that happen. On Tuesday, Vrabel talked about how his respect for the organization played a big part in his taking the job with the Browns.

“Well, I think that one, I have a lot of respect for this organization. What Jimmy and Dee (Haslam) have done, a ton of respect for Andrew and Kevin and what they’ve been able to do in a short amount of time. And, you know, I trust them. I trust them that they would do right by me and that they would help me and that the position and the fit would be beneficial to everybody.”

It wasn’t long ago that no one would say something like this about the Browns, but it shows how different things are in Cleveland now. This role is likely only for one season, but his advice could greatly help the team.

Browns TE David Njoku gets hands on coaching from Mike Vrabel

The Pro Bowl tight end gets some on-the-field coaching from the other NFL Coach of the Year on staff.

The Cleveland Browns have only been in training camp for one week, but there have already been two Mike Vrabel viral clips. First, it was his daily races with backup quarterback Jameis Winston, and now, it is a clip of him hand-fighting with Pro Bowl tight end David Njoku.

Over the past three years, Njoku has developed into one of the most well-rounded tight ends in the NFL. This culminated in his first Pro Bowl appearance a year ago. For a player who struggled to block when he first came into the league, it has now become a calling card for Njoku.

However, there is always room to get better.

In the clip below, you can see Njoku working on his strike, leverage, and hand placement with the former Super Bowl-winning linebacker. Getting one-on-one attention from a coach and former player like Vrabel is such a valuable experience for a blossoming player like Njoku.

Vrabel’s tenure with the Browns will likely be short-lived as he gets his buyout from the Titans and will likely get courted for jobs next year. However, what an invaluable asset he will be to Stefanski and his team during a crucial 2024 season.

With one week of training camp down, the Browns will continue to look to get after it. Vrabel included.

Browns QB Jameis Winston and Mike Vrabel start hilarious tradition

The Browns’ consultant and backup QB have a hilarious daily competition

The Cleveland Browns added two new key members to their franchise in backup quarterback Jameis Winston (after starting five quarterbacks just one year ago, yes the backup is a key addition) and former Tennessee Titans’ head coach Mike Vrabel.

Vrabel joined the team as a consultant under head coach Kevin Stefanski as the two have developed a relationship over the years after he was dismissed from his post in Tennessee. Stefanski, the two-time NFL Coach of the Year, now has another former NFL Coach of the Year to use as a sounding board entering a crucial 2024 season.

These two new members of the Browns have started a new and hilarious tradition: Winston and Vrabel race each other every practice.

The video shows that the former Ohio State Buckeye and Super Bowl-winning linebacker still has a bit of his juice left.