Mike Vrabel and the Titans Just Made Bill Belichick's Seat That Much Hotter

While it might not be Black Monday anymore, the NFL coaching carousel is still spinning. And now Mike Vrabel has climbed aboard.

News broke on Tuesday afternoon that the Tennessee Titans had parted ways with Vrabel, their head coach. The move was a bit more surprising than some of the other decisions around the league. The AFC South club did struggle for the second year in a row, finishing 6-11, but there were mitigating factors.

Derrick Henry, once the crown jewel of the club's offense, has plenty of miles on his metaphorical tires, and Ryan Tannehill continued to fall back to earth. Vrabel's previous success—he posted four winning seasons and took the Titans as far as the AFC Championship before sliding below .500 in 2022—might have bought him a bit more time, but that wasn't to be.

The organization will have to turn the page, and there will be a new head coach leading that charge.

"Earlier today, I spoke with Mike Vrabel and told him about my decision to make a change at head coach," Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement. "As I told Coach Vrabel, this decision was as difficult as any I've made as Controlling Owner. I appreciate Mike's contributions to the Tennessee Titans both on and off the field. Anyone who has ever met him knows how passionate and genuine he is, and he's been a strong supporter of the Nashville community. We wish Mike, Jen, and the Vrabel family nothing but the best in the future."

But, this personnel move does more than shake things up in Tennessee. Vrabel's free agency also turns up the heat in New England, where Bill Belichick's fate could hang in the balance.

After an ugly season, Belichick is on the hot seat. While firing the living legend would have previously been unthinkable, there have been whispers all season that something has to give. And while we don't know what the outcome will be, there's now an obvious potential successor available.

If the Patriots do opt for a change, Vrabel seems like a perfect way to bridge the gap. You're not completely throwing the Belichick-Brady era out the window; you're simply bringing in a fresh voice who can draw upon the principles of that dynasty. The Patriots, for better or worse, haven't been shy about largely keeping things in-house over the years.

Handing the reins to a former player could also make the transition easier for the hoodie-wearing head coach since you'd have to assume the club is conscious of treating Belichick as respectfully as possible.

It's also worth noting that Vrabel wouldn't just be a ceremonial hire, trotted out to appease both the fanbase and Belichick. During his six seasons on the NFL sideline, he's proven to be a capable leader who gets performances out of his players. The coach is as safe a hire as you're going to find; while you could argue about his upside, the bench boss lacks the obvious fatal failing that most recently axed leaders possess.

He'd be a worthwhile candidate for any team, let alone one where there is an existing connection.

That status, however, could be a double-edged sword.

Given there were already whispers about Vrabel's interest in a return to New England before he lost his job, that could suggest the Patriots would have the inside track on a potential hire. But, at the same time, New England can't afford to stand on ceremony. If they want him and plan on taking advantage of any existing connections, they'll have to act promptly. If Patriots owner Robert Kraft isn't ready to move or stands on ceremony due to Belichick's status, the AFC East club could miss a perfect opportunity.

And then the brass will be stuck weighing which imperfect path forward they'd like to pursue. If you're already making a franchise-altering and potentially unpopular decision, you don't want to be working from that position of weakness.

As the cliche says, more is lost through indecision than bad decisions. That's not a perfect mantra (decisively firing Belichick to replace him with a hot dog vendor wouldn't be the right move), but it does hold a bit more water since Vrabel is now on the market.

Now, we'll just have to wait and see how the Patriots proceed.