NASHVILLE, Tenn. – As head coach, Mike Vrabel is going to have to step away from being the head of the Titans' defense.

When he leaves defensive meetings to be with the offense or special teams or for other CEO duties, outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen (pictured below, right) will take the defensive lead, Vrabel said Thursday in a Zoom meeting with reporters.

Vrabel says Shane Bowen will work as lead defensive coach when he steps out. #Titans pic.twitter.com/uHMmIZqm9r

— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) June 11, 2020

It’s the furthest Vrabel has gone at acknowledging he is the de facto defensive coordinator after Dean Pees retired and Vrabel didn’t hire or designate anyone to replace him.

I’ve presumed from early on that Vrabel will be the defensive play-caller, which is not as big a job as offensive play-caller, a job done by several head coaches including Andy Reid and Kyle Shanahan, who squared off in the Super Bowl.

Vrabel still says he does not know. [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ryan Tannehill took on the mantle of leadership the Titans needed from their quarterback when he became their starter in Week 7 of 2019.

He followed up a recent Instagram post in support of Black Lives Matter with a strong, reasoned message in a Zoom press session Wednesday. It’s a stance teammate Rashaan Evans called “courageous,” and one I think will give Tannehill even more leadership juice in a room that was already very fond of him.

“Guys in the locker room are watching,” Evans said. “Situations like that bring guys closer and closer together.”

.@ryantannehill1 on @nflcommish: "We'll see where it really goes once this fall starts. I hope things go differently this time..." The fact he wasn't proactive was disappointing. #NFL #Titans

— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) June 10, 2020

A white NFL quarterback being so comfortably outspoken on issues of race in the days following the murder of George Floyd amid protests asking for reforms is not something I think we’ve seen elsewhere, which makes it an especially impactful to teammates and the organization, and as a story. [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jurrell Casey remains understandably upset from the jolting trade that sent him from the Titans to the Broncos for a seventh-round draft pick in March.

"Coming off an injury the year before and playing the whole season for ya'll, no complaints, I did everything you wanted me to do and you throw me like a piece of trash,” Casey said on the Double Coverage podcast, hosted by Jason and Devin McCourty, first brought to my attention by Turron Davenport. “At the end of the day, none of these businesses are loyal."

Casey was an excellent player for the Titans for nine years. He delivered 51 sacks as an interior defensive lineman in a 4-3 or playing in a 3-4 while earning spots on five Pro Bowl teams. He was the franchise's Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2016 and 2018.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Happy weekend. May you get outside and spread your wings.

Thanks for the good questions.

Tannehill's stats last season were arguably better then McNair's from '03 (co-mvp year) . In your opinion, what would a list of the Top 5 Titans QB seasons look like?

— Will Craig (@WillCraig0804) June 5, 2020

This turned out to be a somewhat depressing exercise.

I absolutely rate Ryan Tannehill’s 2019 as the best quarterbacking season of the Titans’ era. Yes, it’s a different game than McNair was playing in his day, but we’ve hit again and again how only Sammy Baugh and Joe Montana has gone above 70 percent and 9 yards per attempt as Tannehill did with 70.3 percent and 9.6.

McNair’s co-MVP in 2003 has to be second – 24 touchdowns and seven picks in 14 games, his best passer rating (100.4) by nearly 9 points and the second-best for the team by a passer with at least 175 attempts.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – While NFL coaches are cleared to return to their team facilities tomorrow, Mike Vrabel and his staff will wait until Monday to return to the Titans MetroCenter headquarters.

Only the 49ers are not cleared by their local authorities to resume work at their offices, per Ian Rapoport.

Per an NFL memo obtained by PFT, coaches will count against the limit on team employees allowed to be at all team facilities, but that number is bumping up from 75 to 100. [Unlocked.]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- My three biggest takeaways from Arthur Smith’s conversation with the media Wednesday…

1) The Titans won’t have a have a chance to overrate an offseason performance, something that doesn’t carry that much weight once more significant things begin to unfold.

But the media, and then the fans, get caught up in those offseason performances annually and so I am all for the side benefit of not having those to shoot down-slah-put in context.

“You kind of joke that there’s always the ‘King of Spring,’ sort to speak,” Smith said. “Then when the actual real football is played and guys are pressing you and jamming you, or there’s pads on, you’ve got to take on blocks or break tackles, it just looks different. It’s kind of a buildup. [Unlocked.]

NASHVILLE. Tenn. – As statements from teams and commentary from athletes flew around in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the unrest that’s followed, the Titans were quiet.

Then they put out something small and understated on Tuesday.

I don't know what they needed to say, but I can't imagine being a black player on the team and feeling like that was sufficient.

Then before scheduled Zoom calls for three assistant coaches with media, Mike Vrabel jumped on to deliver a message without taking any questions.

NASHVILLE. Tenn. – The Titans were already going to have a hard time holding a conventional training camp for fans at their MetroCenter headquarters this summer given the construction project that is well underway.

Add to that some degree of restrictions on large public gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic that seem likely to extend throughout the summer and open camp practices at St. Thomas Sports Park will be an even more difficult operation.

Simply put, the franchise will have less room for people who need to be more spread out.