The Cleveland Browns are hiring former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel as a consultant for both the coaching staff and personnel department, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Vrabel led the Titans for six seasons, totaling a 54–45 record with two AFC South titles and one appearance in the AFC championship game, along with winning an NFL Coach of the Year award in 2021. Tennessee fired Vrabel after the 2023 season, when the Titans went 6–11 for their worst record since 2015.
After becoming a coaching free agent, Vrabel received interest from teams looking to hire a head coach in January but ultimately failed to land a job. This consultant opportunity allows Vrabel to remain in the league before potentially interviewing for head coaching opportunities again next offseason.
Ex-Titans coach Mike Vrabel was with the Browns at the combine—so this has been in the works for a while. The connection, in this case, is that Vrabel brought Cleveland DC Jim Schwartz aboard in Tennessee a few years back.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 15, 2024
So the Akron native and Walsh Jesuit alum heads home. https://t.co/1JpyTa9prE
This move is also a homecoming for Vrabel, who grew up in Akron and played college football for Ohio State in the 1990s. Vrabel also briefly coached at Ohio State after retiring from 2011 to ’13 before making the jump to the NFL.
