Titans look to rebuild, Vrabel’s future in question

“I would love Coach Vrabel to be my coach next year and years to come. But at the end of the day, this is a business. … We’ll see.” — JEFFERY SIMMONS, TITANS DEFENSIVE LINEMAN

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans have the seventh overall draft pick in April along with the second-most cap space to fix a roster that led the NFL in players used for a third straight season winning only six of its past 24 games.

Mike Vrabel’s future as coach may be only one of many decisions the Titans make this offseason.

The Titans wrapped up Vrabel’s sixth season with a 6-11 record in his first year with general manager Ran Carthon. They beat Jacksonville 28-20 on Sunday to deny their oldest division rival a second straight AFC South title. That was the first time Vrabel’s Titans weren’t playing for a postseason berth in the finale.

Vrabel’s future has been a topic of speculation nationally since November, a couple of weeks after his induction into the Patriots’ Hall of Fame. A three-time Super

Bowl champ as a linebacker in New England, Vrabel has been listed repeatedly as a potential replacement should Bill Belichick leave.

As the Titans cleared out lockers Monday, the coach with a 56-48 record did not talk to reporters. It’s the first time since the franchise moved to Tennessee in 1997 that the head coach wasn’t available on the same day as players. But Vrabel is scheduled to speak later this week.

Vrabel said last week that “of course he wants to be here” in 2024.

Will Levis, who went 3-6 as a rookie after replacing veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill, has heard some of the speculation. The 33rd pick out of Kentucky said he hopes everything stays the same so the Titans can grow.

“He’s going to communicate with us as soon as he knows,” Levis said of Vrabel.

Two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons dismissed the talk, noting everyone thought he was being traded before he signed his extension last offseason.

“I would love Coach Vrabel to be my coach next year and years to come,” Simmons said. “But at the end of the day, this is a business. … We’ll see.”

Vrabel signed a contract extension after a 2021 season where he won the AP NFL Coach of the Year award.

The Titans break ground on a new enclosed stadium expected to cost $2.1 billion sometime this spring, which is set to open for the 2027 season. That only adds to the pressure of making the right decisions from top to bottom moving forward.