Titans decided against trading former HC Mike Vrabel

In another world, the Tennessee Titans wouldn't have fired Mike Vrabel after his sixth season with the team.

Instead, the franchise and controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk would've gone down the path far less travelled when it comes to coaches and traded Vrabel to a head-coach needy team this offseason.

It would've been splashy play considering the rarity of the move. Only eight deals have been orchestrated in league history: Don Shula (1970), Bill Parcells (1997), Mike Holmgren (1999), Bill Belichick (2000), Jon Gruden (2002), Herm Edwards (2006), Bruce Arians (2019) and Sean Payton (2023).

On Tuesday, Strunk spoke with a reporter for the Titans website and was asked if she gave any thought to that for Vrabel as opposed to firing the coach.

"Yes, there was," she said. "But there's a bit of misconception about a coach's contract, say versus a player's contract. A coach's contract, you can't trade them unless they are a willing partner to that trade. So, yes, we thought about it but at the end of the day with league rules the way they are it would have maybe put us back three weeks and you know, to get the right head coach I was just not willing to go to the back of the line and take a chance of missing out on someone we really wanted."

Vrabel, who coached Tennessee to four consecutive winning seasons, was coming off his second-consecutive losing season in Nashville, as the Titans finished 6-11. He concluded his tenure with a 54-45 record and going 2-3 in the postseason.

Even though Vrabel helped the Titans become perennial winners, including three playoff appearances, two AFC South titles, the No. 1 seed in 2021 and winning Coach of the Year that same season, it simply wasn't enough.

Tennessee didn't look like the same team that it had in Vrabel's early seasons, especially his year at the helm when the Titans went to the AFC Championship game in 2019.

The move absolutely stunned Tennessee's biggest star and free agent running back Derrick Henry.

"Wow. Wow," he said via ESPN. "I'm shocked. Coach Vrabel is a leader of men. He is a great coach and teacher. I know he will get another opportunity right away. I look forward to it."

In Strunk's statement regarding Vrabel's firing, she called the decision, "as difficult as any I've made as controlling owner."

Part of the reason to move on from Vrabel was about having the Titans coached in a different direction in the future.

"As the NFL continues to innovate and evolve, I believe the teams best positioned for sustained success will be those who empower an aligned and collaborative team across all football functions," Strunk said in her statement. "Last year, we began a shift in our approach to football leadership and made several changes to our personnel to advance that plan. As I continued to assess the state of our team, I arrived at the conclusion that the team would also benefit from the fresh approach and perspective of a new coaching staff."