Few decisions have aged worse in recent NFL history than the Titans’ choice to fire Mike Vrabel two years ago.
Vrabel took over the Titans in 2018, leading Tennessee to three playoff appearances, two AFC South titles and an AFC championship game appearance over his six seasons in Nashville. Though the Titans fell to 13-21 over his final two seasons, it was clear he was still a good coach and not the primary problem with the Titans. Even so, the Titans chose to move on.
Since that fateful decision, Vrabel was hired as the Patriots head coach last January. He quickly turned the team around from a 4-13 squad to a 14-3 team that is now headed to the Super Bowl after defeating the Broncos 10-7 on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Titans went 3-14 this year and have gone just 6-28 since Vrabel’s departure. They’ve already fired Brian Callahan, the coach they hired to replace Vrabel, and hired Robert Saleh as their next head coach this week.
Though Vrabel is now achieving even greater success with the Patriots, his old Titans defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons remains happy for him. Simmons wrote on X after the Patriots’ win, “Happy as hell for Vrabel and the guys! That’s tough.”
Happy as hell for Vrabel and the guys! That’s tough 🔥
— Jeffery Simmons (@GrindSimmons94) January 25, 2026
Simmons also said earlier this week while appearing on Bussin’ With the Boys, “Props to Vrabel. ... When you're watching them play, you're like, 'That's Vrabel's style of the way he gets his guys to play.' I think that's a testament to him.”
While the Titans have to watch Vrabel succeed elsewhere, Simmons is excited to see Saleh as the team’s new head coach. He told Jordan Schultz after the hire, “To see his energy on the sideline, that's contagious. And to have that from a head coach now, I want to celebrate with my coach. I want to see that fiery-ness on the sideline. That's what excites me.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Titans Star Had Classy Message for Mike Vrabel After Leading Patriots to Super Bowl.
