Tennessee Titans: Who Will Mike Vrabel Hire As Offensive Coordinator?
By Zach Ragan
The Tennessee Titans announced on Saturday the hiring of Mike Vrabel as the franchise’s new head coach.
Mike Vrabel is the new head coach of the Tennessee Titans and while I have my doubts about the hire, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt (he deserves that much — as does any first time head coach).
Considering Vrabel is a defensive minded coach, the Titans’ offensive success in 2018 will largely depend on who is hired as the offensive coordinator.
Here are a few options I expect Vrabel to consider.
Sean Ryan — Houston Texans quarterbacks coach
Sean Ryan has two decades of coaching experience. He spent the first nine years of his career at the collegiate level (mostly bouncing around the Ivy League), before landing with the New York Giants in 2007 as an offensive quality control coach.
In 2010, Ryan was promoted to wide receivers coach for the Giants.
Ryan coached wide receivers for the Giants for four total seasons. He also coached quarterbacks for two seasons (in 2012, under Ryan’s tutelage, Eli Manning was elected to the Pro-Bowl).
Bill O’Brien hired Ryan as Houston’s wide receivers coach in 2016. He was moved to quarterbacks coach for the 2017 season.
Ryan interviewed earlier this month with the Cleveland Browns for their vacant offensive coordinator position.
Of all the potential hires Vrabel could make, I think this would be one of his smarter bets. Ryan is considered by many as a rising star in the NFL, with head coaching potential.
John DeFilippo — Philadelphia Eagles Quarterbacks coach
DeFilippo is actually a hot head coaching candidate, but there’s no guarantee he’ll land a NFL gig.
If he doesn’t, then he’ll likely look for a promotion as an offensive coordinator.
DeFilippo doesn’t have a direct connection to Vrabel, or the Titans, but that shouldn’t matter.
Hiring DeFilippo would be a grand slam for the Titans and it would erase some of the concerns fans have about Vrabel as a first time head coach.
DeFilippo has served as an offensive coordinator in the NFL once before in his career. In 2015, he was Cleveland Browns’ offensive coordinator. He was let go when head coach Mike Pettine was fired.
Ryan Day — Ohio State co-offenisve coordinator
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Sunday that Vrabel is considering Ryan Day for the offensive coordinator position.
Day is currently the co-offenisve coordinator at Ohio State (Vrabel’s alma mater and first coaching gig, though the two never coached together).
Before being hired at Ohio State, Day served one season each as the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach and the 49ers’ quarterbacks coach (both jobs were under Chip Kelly — they have a New Hampshire connection).
This hire would make some sense on paper, but I’m not sure if it would be the right move. I feel like the only reason Day has NFL experience is because of his relationship with Kelly. His biggest gig before Kelly brought him to the NFL was as Boston College’s offensive coordinator (BC was No. 111 and No. 70 in the nation in scoring offense during Day’s two seasons).
I think there are better options for the Titans.
Zac Taylor — Los Angeles Rams Quarterbacks coach
If Vrabel is going to take a chance on a young coach, why not consider Zac Taylor?
Taylor, who played college football at Nebraska, has already served as an offensive coordinator in his young career. He was the Miami Dolphins’ interim offensive coordinator in 2015. He served as the Cincinnati Bearcats’ offensive coordinator in 2016.
The Oklahoma native was able to get impressive results out of Ryan Tannehill (third most passing yards of any quarterback in history in their first four seasons).
I would love to see what Taylor could do with Marcus Mariota.
For what it’s worth, I think Taylor is underrated coach that could end up being a very solid hire for the Titans.