Tennessee Titans: Mike Vrabel’s seat is getting warmer

Bad coaching decisions by Mike Vrabel and his crew has held back a Titans team that should be in prime playoff contention right now after five weeks.

The Tennessee Titans shocked the NFL when they fired former head coach Mike Mularkey, who owns the only playoff win for the Titans this decade, for current head coach Mike Vrabel who walked in with no previous head coaching experience.

Vrabel showed some promise in his first season as head coach. He showed guts in the win vs. the Eagles when he went for the win instead of the tie in overtime.

He also showed some guts in the loss versus the Chargers when deciding to go for two instead of taking it over time. Albeit, the attempt was unsuccessful, but you couldn’t argue with his bravery.

Ultimately, the team finished 9-7, the same record they finished with under Mularkey two seasons in a row, so the second season under Vrabel had to be an improvement to justify the ownership’s decision to fire Mularkey for him.

On the surface, it seems that Vrabel is far from improving in his second season. The Titans, who started 3-1 last season, is 2-3, and all three losses are frustrating losses to opponents they should have beaten.

Vrabel’s seat is not getting warmer because of any statistic or record drop, but instead, it is his decision making in key moments that have arguably cost the Titans two games this season. Let’s start with the first game: Titans vs. Colts in week two.

On a Colts drive, cornerback Malcolm Butler was called with a questionable pass interference. Although those have been really fickle this year, by looking at the replay, it’s clear Butler did not interfere, and it would have been well worth the challenge. Take a look.

Instead of throwing the challenge flag, Vrabel kept it in his back pocket. Bummer. Later on that same drive, Brissett ran for a first down on third down and clearly fell short, but the referees gave him a very generous spot.

In what would have been an obvious challenge won by Tennessee, ended up just being a first down because Vrabel kept the flag in his pocket. The Colts went on to score and make the score 13-7.

The second game that was thrown away thanks to coaching decisions is the Bills game. There’s only one costly decision here that pretty much wrapped the game up, and that is when Vrabel decided to allow his kicker, who was previously 0-for-3 on the day, to kick a 53-yard field goal, which tied for the longest attempt of his career.

Mind you, the Titans were down seven, and it was 4th & 7. Even if he made the field goal, they are still down four and still need a touchdown. But he missed it.

And what was Vrabel’s reasoning for kicking a field goal?

The Titans unit has been playing well this season, aside from the offensive line. This Titans team could easily be 4-1 right now, maybe at worst 3-2, if not for those crucial coaching decisions. Vrabel isn’t on the hot seat just yet, but his seat is for sure, getting warmer.