Titans try to follow in Patriots’ footsteps

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. When Tennessee GM Jon Robinson fired coach Mike Mularkey after he lost to the Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs following the 2017 season, he leaned on his past to plot a course for the Titans’ future.

Five days later Robinson, who got his NFL start as a scout with New England from 2002-13, hired Mike Vrabel — winner of three Super Bowl rings as a linebacker with the Patriots — as his new coach.

With former Patriots cornerback Logan Ryan already on the roster, Vrabel added more players and staff with ties to New England. That group included former Patriots assistant Dean Pees as his defensive co-ordinator, 2015 Super Bowl saviour cornerback Malcolm Butler, and running back Dion Lewis.

It seemed like a transparent effort to plant seeds in Tennessee of New England coach Bill Belichick’s disciplined, team-first “Do your job” culture that has come to be known as “The Patriot Way.”

“Isn’t that the street the movie theatre is on?” Vrabel joked this week when asked what the moniker meant to him.

Two seasons later the efforts of Robinson and Vrabel, combined with a boost from former Miami Dolphins quarterback and Patriots’ AFC East nemesis Ryan Tannehill, have culminated in a wild-card matchup Saturday with the franchise the Titans appear to be striving to emulate.

True or not, Vrabel said the ties between the teams aren’t on his mind.

“This isn’t about my career, my eight years in New England,” said Vrabel, who coached the Titans to a 34-10 win over New England in Nashville last season. “This is about the Titans and our preparation to go up there and face a team that’s won three Super Bowls in the last five years.”