NASHVILLE – Standing in the back of the endzone inside Nissan Stadium, two Tennessee Titans fans draped a custom-made sign over a light blue wall near the visitor’s tunnel.
With two headshots of Mike Vrabel, the sign poked fun at the Titans organization, reading:
“Memo From: Titans Front Office
We’re sorry for firing you
And we deeply regret it.”
All week long, leading up to this matchup with his former team, Vrabel maintained that the game wasn’t about him or revenge on the organization that fired him. The coach said all the right things before and after the Patriots’ dominant win over the Titans.
Inside the visitor’s locker room, players noted Vrabel never made this week about him. The truth is, he didn’t have to – his players had his back regardless.
The afternoon started with Vrabel all smiles as he came onto the field inside his home stadium. It ended with this crowd chanting his name following the Patriots' fourth-straight win.
“It’s a big win for him coming back to where he used to be. I know it means a lot to him,” Kayshon Boutte said. “He might not say it, but I know it truly does. I think we did a good job of just having his back, supporting him.”
BEFORE KICKOFF, Vrabel walked into the stadium smiling. He chatted with several former players, including longtime Titans long snapper Morgan Cox, cornerback Roger McCreary, safety Amani Hooker, and receiver Tyler Lockett.
Vrabel also spent some time speaking with former Titans player Tim Shaw, who was diagnosed with ALS and was on the pregame field in his wheelchair.
“Vrabes didn’t talk about it being a personal week or anything, but a lot of guys here – coaches and players –spent a lot of time in Nashville,” said Patriots backup and former Titans quarterback Joshua Dobbs.
At the beginning of Sunday’s game, the Patriots didn’t start like many thought they would.
The Titans got out to an early lead. Their offense had no problem moving the ball against Vrabel’s defensive unit. The Patriots unit struggled to score in the red zone, and with 1:53 left in the first half, the Titans had a 13-10 lead.
What also makes Vrabel a good coach is his team’s ability to improve. That’s seen weekly, but it also happened inside Nissan Stadium on Sunday. After that field goal, the Patriots scored 21 straight points against the Titans. That included a defensive touchdown.
“He gets on everybody. He’s all about the details. He’s all about technique,” Milton Williams said. “That’s with every position. He’s down here with us, working on stuff. He’s with the running backs, showing them technique, the receivers. He goes with every position group, harping on all the little things, playing hard. He’s just a good coach to play for.”
Under Vrabel, the Patriots look like legitimate AFC contenders. After a five-turnover day against Pittsburgh in Week 3, his team has had one turnover in the last three games. After two weeks of not being able to run the ball efficiently, the Patriots ran for a season-high 175 yards on Sunday.
JACK GIBBENS admitted it was weird.
The linebacker spent his first three NFL seasons in Tennessee, and on Sunday, he was in the visitor’s locker room and opposing sideline for the first time in his NFL career. Gibbens is one of four players on the Patriots roster who played for the Titans under Vrabel. The team’s staff also has seven assistants who previously worked in Tennessee.
The connections and the way it ended made this a big game on the Patriots schedule.
Vrabel’s message to his players was consistent - it was about his team maintaining the same level of play from their previous four wins. Players, however, took note of the matchup.
“Just having your coach’s back. It means a lot. People in this league have been around a lot of different places. It’s kind of a sensitive topic for everybody,” Stefon Diggs said. “We’ve kind of had that storyline throughout this year with guys going back to where they were at one point. Coach Vrabes, as players, we want to play for him, we want to go hard for him, we damn sure want to win for him.
“He’s a humble coach. He’s not going to make it bout himself. He’s going to make it about the players. For us, it is always personal, especially, it’s one of our guys. It’s part of having our guys back.”
After the game, Vrabel said he realized his players were buying into his program following the Patriots Week 1 loss to Las Vegas. The next week, the team was focused, improved, and then won on the road in Miami – something that hadn’t happened for the franchise since Tom Brady was still playing.
For those who’ve played for Vrabel before, one thing that makes him special is his ability to reach his players.
“That’s one of the best things that coach Vrabes does is establish the identity of the football team,” Gibbens said. “I feel like guys are really buying into that now. You can see it. It shows up the way we play and will only continue to get better from here.”
THE GAME was almost over. With 1:15 left on the clock, fans erupted inside Nissan Stadium.
They screamed: “Vrabel! Vrabel! Vrabel!”
That might be how Vrabel envisioned it would be when he was named the Titans head coach in 2018. For six years, Vrabel’s teams fought. They made three straight playoff appearances before suffering two straight losing seasons in 2022 and 2023.
That led to his departure and a year later, his hiring in New England. Patriots players said they enjoyed hearing the fans scream Vrabel’s name.
“I thought it was pretty cool,” Gibbens said. “I think he liked it.”
When the game was over, Vrabel departed into the visitors’ tunnel, where he waited outside the visitors’ locker room. The coach waited there and shook the hand of every player who came in.
Afterward, players said Vrabel brought a new level of enthusiasm to New England. They said they trusted him and appreciated his consistency as a coach.
“He demands a lot out of us and sets a high expectation. He pushes us every day to achieve those expectations and demands. All of us enjoy it,” Dobbs said. “He’s the first one to congratulate you, and he’s the first one to pick you up when something doesn’t go your way. We respect him on both sides of the coin.”
In the locker room, Vrabel told his players he was proud of them for winning their third-straight game on the road, something that hadn’t been done in New England since 1985. The coach said he was proud of his players, and before he was done, Drake Maye spoke up.
“One sec, one sec,” Maye said. “For coach and all Tennessee coaches, coach Vrabel, we love playing for you. Glad you’re our head coach, and we love you, coach.”
That’s when Vrabel broke down the locker room with one simple word: “Team.”
He maintained it’s about them, not him. Players maintained they wanted to beat the Titans for their coach.
“It was big. Of course, we know he came from here. I don’t know what happened over there, but he’s our coach now,” Milton Williams said. “Every week, he’s on our ass during the week to make sure we’re ready for the moment. It didn’t matter if we were coming back here. That’s every week. We’re trying to get a win every week.
“All the players knew we were coming back to where he was. We wanted to go out and get a win for him.”
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