Vrabel Impressed by Alabama Attitude

The Tennessee Titans coach says that his talks with Nick Saban and Crimson Tide players speak to the success of that program.

When Nick Saban talks, Mike Vrabel listens.

An endorsement by college football’s preeminent coach played a part in the Tennessee Titans’ decision to trade for wide receiver Julio Jones this week. Jones played three years under Saban at the University of Alabama before he became the sixth pick in the 2011 NFL Draft and embarked on a pro career that appears destined to send him to the Hall of Fame.

But it goes both ways. Vrabel also likes to hear what Saban’s former players have to say, and the Titans now have three prominent ones. There is Jones, running back Derrick Henry and inside linebacker Rashaan Evans. The current offseason roster also includes undrafted rookie tight end Miller Forristall.

“What I really feel a lot when I have conversations with Julio and, you know, Rashaan and Derrick is how these guys were coached in college,” Vrabel said. “I can always really appreciate players that have come from places like Alabama, where there’s so much consistency in how they do things.

“Listening to Nick Saban talk about ‘This is how we do things,’ it doesn’t change. The players may be different each year or the coaches come in, and (they) lose a lot of coaches, but (they’re) still going to do things the way (they) do them.”

It is pretty much impossible to argue with the results.

No college has sent more players to the NFL in recent years than Alabama. Since Saban became head coach in 2008, the Crimson Tide has had 106 players chosen in the NFL Draft, which is at least 10 more than any other college football program (LSU is next with 96).

And it is not just any picks. In the 2021 NFL Draft, eight of the first 38 choices were players from Alabama. That program had 12 players selected in 2018 and 10 each in 2019 and 2021.

Oh, and Saban has led Alabama to six national championships, including the most recent.

The chat about Jones, the fifth first-rounder of the Saban era and one of the most productive wide receivers in recent NFL history, was not the first time Vrabel and Saban conversed. Far from it. In fact, their interactions over the years have gone beyond just player references.

“I would say that I have a really good relationship with Coach Saban,” Vrabel said. “He’s welcomed me down there to, really, just try to get better and improve as a football coach and then, you know, the ability to call him and ask him about a situation.

“About adding a player that he’s coached was something that I was able to do. … He’s here, and Coach Saban, obviously, thinks a great deal about Julio as a person.”

Vrabel became the Titans’ head coach in 2018, and the first draft pick of his tenure was Evans, selected 22nd overall after a trade that allowed Tennessee to move up from No. 25. Evans led the team in tackles in his second season.

General manager Jon Robinson has been on the job since 2016, and the highest pick from his first draft still on the roster is Henry. The two-time NFL rushing champion put up the fifth-highest rushing total in league history when he ran for 2,027 yards in 2020.

Now it is 2021, and the roster includes Jones, a development that franchise officials and fans alike hope will make Tennessee’s offense the talk of the league.

“We’ve had some great conversations and we’re excited to have Julio,” Vrabel said.