Does Mike Vrabel Make Sense for the Jaguars?

Could the former Tennessee Titans head coach make sense as an option for the Jacksonville Jaguars?

Jan 7, 2023; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel leaves the field after losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been consistently pegged as a team that is on the verge of looking for a change at head coach. But what exactly could that change look like?

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson is still in his role and will remain so through the final two weeks of the 2024 season, but it is fair to assume he is on the hot seat after the devastaingly disappointing season the Jaguars have had thus far.

The obvious names that are likely to be connected to the Jaguars' job are the top play-callers and offensive minds, with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen taking centerstage.

But what about a familiar foe instead? What about a coach whose background isn't in orchestrating explosive offenses, and is instead in instilling a tough, hard-nosed culture that wins games based off phsyciality?

That is where former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel comes in. For years, Vrabel's

Vrabel is a coach who Jaguars owner Shad Khan would know well, at least in terms of what his teams look like. Vrabel coached against the Jaguars in the AFC South, going 8-4 in the process (and 7-1 in his first eight games against Khan's franchise).

Even in the Jaguars' best season under Khan in 2017, the Jaguars were picked apart by Vrabel's teams. Time and time again, Vrabel had the more physical team, the more mentally tough team, and the team that could be counted on to execute.

In many ways, the Titans bullied the Jaguars for much of Vrabel's tenure. It wasn't until the 2022 and 2023 seasons when the Jaguars went 3-1 against the Titans that the Jaguars seemed to finally figure Vrabel out. But even then, Vrabel's last game with the Titans was a win against the Jaguars in Week 18 to knock them out of the playoffs.

Vrabel has spent the 2024 season with the Cleveland Browns as he bides his time to throw his hat back into the ring. He has already been reported as a potential candidate in Chicago and New York, two spots that already have head coach vacancies.

Could the Jaguars make sense for him, too? With a consistent theme of the Pederson era being an inability to strain and finish in close games, hiring a culture-minded coach like Vrabel wouldn't be the most illogical choice.

Vrabel's teams are known for winning ugly, which is something the Jaguars have yet to figure out. The Jaguars are 2-8 in one-score games this year largely because of their issues in terms of execution in high-leverage moments, which was an area Vrabel's teams always thrived in.

Vrabel probably isn't the first name that comes to mind when it comes to the Jaguars' head coaching search, but maybe he should be.

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