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The Titans Are Firing Mike Vrabel

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Mike Vrabel is out as coach of the Titans after six seasons.

The weak-rostered Titans were 6-18 in their last 24 games and missed the playoffs the last two seasons.

That's the top reason the team will look for a fresh perspective.

Ran Carthon and Mike Vrabel
Ran Carthon and Mike Vrabel before the Jaguars' game/ Angie Flatt

Vrabel finishes his Titans tenure with a 54-48 record with three playoff appearances in six seasons. 

Trade possibilities were explored but determined not to be feasible. The timetable and the team's feeling that Vrabel would be willing to participate in a trade were factors. 

Teams cannot talk in person to NFL candidates until after the divisional round of the playoffs which finishes Jan., 21 and have to meet with two external minority candidates to comply with the Rooney Rule.

Now the Titans can start Zoom meetings with some in-house candidates immediately.

Last week, amid rumors of his discontent with things he was asked if he wanted to stay.

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Former Scout Sees Nine of 22 Starters Back for Titans Next Season

Former Scout Sees Nine of 22 Starters Back for Titans Next Season

By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans were highly motivated, focused and looked determined to not only spoil the Jaguars playoff bid, but get right on offense and send Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill off to free agency with excellent last games in front of the home crowd.

The Titans once again played the bully. It was a long time coming but they finally found an identity they have been searching for the past two seasons. 

Terrell Edmunds
Terrell Edmunds/ Angie Flatt

The Titans leaned heavy on their best players on offense. Henry, short passes to DeAndre Hopkins from veteran Tannehill, quick screen games to Tyjae Spears and Chig Okonkwo -- utilizing their most explosive offensive threats and keeping the Jaguars’ defense off-balance with a combination of runs, quick passes and allowing the beleaguered Titans’ offensive line to have success without long developing pass plays and protections.

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Titans Need to Sort This All Out, Then Tell Us Their Vision -- And It Better Be Good

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Are the Titans working on a trade of Mike Vrabel right now?

We don’t know.

We don’t know a lot of things, which we have to accept and which could change in moments.

Derrick Henry and Mike Vrabel
Derrick Henry and Mike Vrabel/ Courtesy Tennessee Titans

But a deal for a coach isn’t a sprint, and if that’s what is happening it’s likely to take at least a bit of time. I wouldn't dismiss the idea he still could stay, either.

In the history of the Titans in Nashville, the coach has always spoken to the press on clean-out day. But on Monday, when a huge share of the roster talked to the media while cleaning out lockers and saying goodbye, Vrabel did not talk. The current play is that he will talk later this week.

Another notable piece of information that could be an indicator about him:

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Analytics Of The Mike Vrabel, Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry Titans' Era

By JAKE DOWNARD

With a win at Nissan Stadium Sunday, the Jaguars would clinch the AFC South, the 4-seed in the playoffs, and welcome Joe Flacco and the Cleveland Browns to Jacksonville next weekend. With a loss, they would find themselves in the exact same position as the Titans and fans around the world next weekend, watching from home. In contrast, the Titans waltzed onto the field eliminated from playoff contention, with the majority of the fanbase already perusing mock drafts and conflicting reports on the future of Mike Vrabel that swirling right through kickoff.

Ryan Tannehill and Derick Henry
Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry/ Angie Flatt

By all accounts, it was a game the Jaguars should win, but once again they were outplayed, outworked, and ultimately beaten by the trio of Mike Vrabel, Ryan Tannehill, and Derrick

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Derrick Henry Busts Out, Thanks the Avocado Guy, Heads For A Burger

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Derrick Henry just turned 30 and his contract expires in March. He left Nissan Stadium facing more questions than he has in a long time. But he didn’t have to worry, as he typically does, about what to eat.

After a vintage 19-carry, 153-yard game with a touchdown in the Titans’ surprising 28-20 upset of the Jaguars Sunday, his strict in-season diet relaxes and a burger from Jack Brown’s was foremost on his mind.

Derrick Henry
Derrick Henry/ Angie Flatt

First, he held a 13-minute press conference that was easily the most expansive of his eight-year professional career, during which he bounced between wistfulness about staying and reality about the potential he might move on.

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'We Planted Our Own Trees:' As Construction Nears, Fans Mourn The End Of Titans' Tailgating

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jan Robinson’s been counting it down, game-by-game, as she approaches her final shot of tequila off the Mace Fask Krewe’s Spirit Sword.

Since the very start of the Titans' run at what was originally Adelphia Coliseum, she and a die-hard group of friends have tailgated in Lot N, Southeast of the stadium.

Sunday before the home team plays the Jacksonville Jaguars, they will have one big final party surrounding the game, saying goodbye to a curb area and eight or 10 spots adjacent to it where they’ve eaten, drunk and been merry for the better part of 383 games.

Jan Robinson
  Ed Pulk, left, and Jan Robinson at a luau tailgate
  in honor of Marcus Mariota 

Now lots A, B, C and D will be home to new Nissan Stadium. Other parking in the area will be part of the construction site or reassigned.

Season ticket holders are being offered spots in eight offsite garages within a 20-minute walk. Tailgating in lots surrounding the Titans’ venue has reached its end.

There are about 7,500 parking spots in the setup about to end. There will be about 2,800 when all the construction is finished, but some will be in parking decks.

A large park where the current stadium sits will come with opportunities for tailgating akin to The Grove at Ole Miss. There will be a large plaza and bars and restaurants. But things will be very different than what people are accustomed to.

So many of Sunday’s tailgates will be thanks-for-the-memories and bring-your-best.

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If This Is It For Him Here, Cheers to Titans' Derrick Henry

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Derrick Henry turned 30 on Thursday, three days before the Titans' season finale and what could be his last game with the team that drafted him in 2016.

He was named to the AFC's Pro Bowl roster a day early, though he said it was for play he's "not too proud of" this year. Sunday' the Titans will doubtlessly introduce the offense and let a guy who's been as much the face of the franchise as anyone in the team's 25 seasons in Nashville soak in the appreciation of the home crowd.

Derrick Henry
Derrick Henry/ Angie Flatt

The game will determine if the Jaguars win the AFC South and if the Titans finish with five wins or six, winless in their division for the first time since they were the Houston Oilers in 1982, a season shortened by a strike that included just four division games. 

Henry is beloved and with good reason.

In this week's edition of The Paul Kuharsky Podcast, I discuss if he's the most meaningful Titan ever.

Please be sure to subscribe, like and review on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeart and YouTube.

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Titans' Film Check: Progress For Harold Landry, Dillon Radunz and Otis Reese

Titans' Film Check: Progress For Harold Landry, Dillon Radunz and Otis Reese

By MIKE HERNDON, columnist

The 2023 calendar year was not kind to Titans football fans. Tennessee posted a 5-12 record, including the 20-16 heartbreaker in Jacksonville last January.

The team’s shortcomings are well-worn ground at this point. The offensive line is a complete mess, they lack dynamic weapons in the passing game and the defense is completely reliant on a couple of high performers along the defensive front to keep it from being a total disaster.

Harold Landry
Harold Landry/ Angie Flatt

Rather than continue piling on those narratives or having the Mike Vrabel discussion again, I want to take some time this week to highlight a few Titans who have had strong closes to what will go down as one of the worst seasons this franchise has experienced since moving to Nashville.

OLB Harold Landry

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