Dysfunction Inside Jaguars' Rival Franchise a Good Thing For Duval?

The Jacksonville Jaguars now have a healthy culture with Doug Pederson at the helm. Their rival, the Tennessee Titans, had a dysfunctional one with Mike Vrabel. Under Brian Callahan, has it changed?

Dec 31, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel reacts after a play during the first quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars are becoming a franchise that is stable. Head coach Doug Pederson has turned things around since the debacle that was the brief Urban Meyer era and Trevor Lawrence can be credited as a big part of that stabilizing force.

The Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville's AFC South rival, have had dysfunction in their franchise for what seems to be quite some time. Former head Mike Vrabel was at the helm of that dysfunction, according to what players are now saying with new head coach Brian Callahan.

Per Mike Moraitis of The Sporting News, outside linebacker Harold Landry's comments signify a bad look for the Vrabel era.

"I feel like now when guys show up here now, that they feel like they can be confident and be themselves and they can operate how they know they best operate to perform as good as they can on Sundays, because everybody is different,” Landry said. “I feel like guys are happy that they can come into the building and kind of trust the work that they’ve been putting in. ... I feel like the old way was everybody was kind of locked into one way of doing things. But now the box has been opened. There’s so many more people involved in the preparation process. Like for guys who have done it for awhile, there’s a trust between us and the coaching staff that everybody has different ways to prepare for the game.

"And I just feel like now, we have that trust and confidence coming into the building, everybody can kind of not necessarily be locked into one box, but guys know what they need to do to get ready for Sunday."

The Titans' environment may have contributed to their poor play the last few seasons -- the team was 13-21 in his last two seasons. Vrabel was fired in January. Whether or not the move to Callahan will pay off likely won't be known this season or possibly even the next two.

Vrabel was 54-45 in his six seasons as head coach, leading the Titans to the playoffs three times. Vrabel had a 2-3 playoff record.

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