Mike Vrabel has done his best all week to downplay the return trip to Tennessee, and playing against the Titans for the first time since being fired by owner Amy Adams Strunk two years ago.
The Patriots coach acknowledges it being an interesting storyline for media types and others. But wouldn’t acknowledge wanting to beat the bag out of his former employer.
That’s fine.
Plenty of Vrabel’s friends know him well enough to know the score.
Matt Cassel played with Vrabel in New England. He was traded with Vrabel to Kansas City. The former Patriots quarterback also played a year in Tennessee, and now makes his home in Nashville.
He has a pretty good idea where things stand with Titans fans, as well as Vrabel when it comes to the Patriots coach returning to Nissan Stadium on Sunday.
“There’s still a big contingency here that were huge fans of Mike Vrabel and are seeing what he’s doing. I think that probably adds a little salt in the wound,” Cassel told MassLive earlier in the week. “And, so, they’re excited for him to come back. But at the same time, they’re also fearful he might come in here and boat-race ‘em.”
Now, why would Tennessee fans think that? Did Vrabel do a little boat-racing as the head coach of the Titans?
Cassel laughed.
“They just know Vrabel and the type of individual he is, and the type of coach he is. They’ve experienced it first-hand,” Cassel said. “So around here, there’s a lot of chatter about: ‘Mike Vrabel is going to come in here and try to put 50 up on us.”'
Former Vrabel teammate and fellow Patriots Hall of Famer Vince Wilfork considered that estimate modest.
Cracked Wilfork via text: “He will absolutely try to score 100!”
A little hyperbole by Big Vince, but the point is clear. Inwardly, Vrabel, who is as competitive as they come, would love nothing better than to stomp on the Titans.
While some might worry about the revenge factor clouding Vrabel’s judgment, however, that’s not likely.
Scorned coach or not, Vrabel knows the big picture mission with the Patriots. That’s the priority.
Sitting at 4-2, atop the AFC East, the only important outcome against the Titans is the ‘W” whether they trounce Tennessee or not.
That’s first and foremost for Vrabel and the Patriots. Plus, he’s already made the Titans organization look like fools. He’s already beaten the bag out of them from a public relations standpoint.
But don’t doubt for a second how much pleasure Vrabel would get in blowing out Tennessee. And while they won’t say it publicly, the players want to make sure their coach gets to walk out of there with a win.
Add in several former Titans players now with the Patriots (Harold Landry, Jack Gibbens, Robert Spillane, Austin Hooper, Josh Dobbs) as well as former assistants (John Streicher, Zak Kuhr, Todd Downing, Scott Booker, Clinton McMillan, Tony Dews, Justin Hamilton, Jason Houghtaling) and the emotions will be at a fever pitch.
What type of reception if Vrabel likely to get when he walks into the stadium, especially after the Titans just fired his replacement Brian Callahan after going 4-19 post-Vrabel? That will be another subplot.
Talking with Cassel, and others based in Nashville, there are still plenty of Vrabel fans remaining in Tennessee who wish he was still there.
“I think he’ll get a warm reception. I truly believe that,” said Cassel, who co-hosts a podcast “Lots to Say” with Bobby Bones and also works for NBC as a commentator covering college football. “It wasn’t Mike Vrabel pushing himself out. He got fired. For a lot of people around here, they didn’t understand why that move was made. It was an impulse decision by Amy and her team. And since that point, you’ve seen this program go down hill a little bit.”
A little bit?
That’s being generous.
The Titans had the first overall pick last year, and at 1-5, could very well have the same distinction when all is said and done this year.
Vrabel did have two straight losing seasons, but had turned the program around, and led the Titans to an AFC Championship appearance without the benefit of having a great quarterback.
His 56 wins as the team’s head coach are the third most in Titans franchise history.
Team owner Strunk was too quick to pull the trigger on Vrabel and she’s been paying the price ever since. Now, she’s just hoping and praying her team can be competitive against the team Vrabel is now leading.
“This was his first opportunity as a head coach,” Cassel said of Vrabel’s stint in Tennessee. “When you look what he did with the organization, he took them to the AFC Championship and took them to the playoffs almost every single year … and changed the culture of the program, and for it to end the way it did, after a few down years, to be fired, I know that would leave a bitter taste in anyone’s mouth, especially a guy that’s a competitor.”
At this point, with the Patriots already matching their win total from the previous two seasons, Vrabel has reinforced how good he is at changing a culture, and turning a program around.
Today, Strunk will see it first hand.
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