Workouts voluntary, communication key for Titans says Vrabel
NASHVILLE – Mike Vrabel didn’t get much sleep the previous night, but the first-year Titans coach was bursting with energy Monday morning as he stood at the front of an auditorium at Saint Thomas Sports Park and addressed his team for the first time.
“Obviously we didn’t take attendance,” Vrabel told reporters after players reported for the start of voluntary offseason workouts. “Everybody understands it’s voluntary, so I to be honest with you, I don’t know (whether everyone on the roster showed up). It looked pretty good to me. But we didn’t take attendance and the guys that were here seemed engaged.”
Players in attendance were introduced to the new staff — which includes former Rams offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur and former Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees — and discussed expectations and objectives for the first two weeks of the program, in which they’re limited to strength and conditioning activities and learning the new playbook.
“We talked about learning, conditioning and communicating, and really, that’s what they can do,” Vrabel said.
Vrabel later said he knew there were some absentees, but declined to name the players missing.
“I know a few guys that weren’t (here), because they had some things that came up, and they texted their coach. They communicated,” Vrabel said. “They said, ‘Hey, coach, I’m not going to be there. Something happened.’ Which, that’s all you can ask from them.”
That level of communication stands in contrast to a year ago, when former coach Mike Mularkey told reporters that running back Derrick Henry hadn’t shown up for voluntary workouts, and that he had no explanation for why he was absent.
Henry, as it turned out, was finishing classes at Alabama.
Vrabel said he had “no concern” about players missing out on their first opportunity to meet the new coaching staff and learn the playbook.
“There is no concern,” Vrabel said. “Whoever’s here is going to get coached, is going to get developed and is going to learn our system. Honestly, I mean that. Because they’re all working. If they’re pros, they’re going to be working somewhere.”
The second phase of the offseason program lasts three weeks, and includes individual player instruction and drills and limited team practice. The third phase lasts four weeks and includes 10 days of organized team activities. No live contact is permitted. This period includes a mandatory minicamp for veteran players.
The Titans will also host a voluntary minicamp for veteran players in late April, shortly before the NFL Draft, which is allowed for teams with a new head coach.
Vrabel said he found voluntary workouts valuable when he was a player, but admitted he didn’t always attend.
“This is a great time to come back and be with your teammates and take advantage of (our) great facility,” Vrabel said, “and if they choose to come back and work, we’re going to coach them. And so, everybody’s got some stuff going on. Whether they’re here or not, we’re going to coach them. When they come back in, we’re going to coach them. So everybody’s got a different situation.
“Sometimes, when I was a player, I went to the OTAs. I was 33 years old. I had two kids. I just went to the OTAs. And when I was a 22-year-old player, I was at all the offseason conditioning things. So it’s year-to-year, player-toplayer, case-by-case basis.”