Mike Vrabel Just Can't (Or Won't) Leave His Texans Defense in the Past

Free-agent cornerback Kevin Johnson becomes the latest member of Houston's 2017 defense to join Vrabel in Tennessee.

Mike Vrabel has been the Tennessee Titans’ head coach for more than three years, yet he can’t seem to forget his one season as the Houston Texans’ defensive coordinator.

The latest example is the addition of cornerback Kevin Johnson, which the team formally announced Monday. Johnson is a six-year veteran and a 2015 first-round draft pick (16th overall) by Houston who has not been a starter since his rookie season. He spent the last two seasons with Buffalo (2019) and Cleveland (2020) and has one career interception in 64 games.

The 28-year-old is at least the fifth member of the Texans’ 2017 defense to join the Titans since 2018, and that does not account for other connections from Vrabel’s days as a position coach that have factored into Tennessee’s roster moves in recent years.

Had things gone differently in recent weeks, that number would be even higher. Since the end of the 2020 season, Vrabel and the Titans attempted – unsuccessfully – to sign defensive end J.J. Watt and to trade for linebacker Benardrick McKinney.

It is difficult to understand the continuing collective appeal of that unit. Racked by injuries, Houston gave up more points than any team in the league in 2017, was not among the NFL’s top 20 in pass defense or sacks and had fewer fumble recoveries than every team except Cincinnati.

Perhaps Vrabel, who was promoted that season from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator, feels like he owes something to those players. Maybe he thinks he made mistakes or that circumstances conspired to keep that unit from reaching its potential (for example, injuries limited Watt and linebacker Whitney Mercilus to five games apiece).

Whatever it is, Vrabel just can’t seem to let it go.

In 2020, the Titans signed linebacker Jadeveon Clowney and cornerback Johnathan Joseph, two key members of his Texans defense. Clowney was a colossal disappointment and failed to register a sack in eight games before a knee injury ended his campaign. Joseph was released midway through the season after having struggled in pass defense.

There have been others like linebacker Gimel President (2018, 2019) and safety Ibraheim Campbell (2020) who had chances to make the roster but failed to do so.

On top of that, the Titans’ current coaching staff includes defensive coordinator Shane Bowen and secondary coach Anthony Midget, both of whom were defensive assistants for the Texans in 2017.

Take another step back and consider Tennessee’s offense in recent years has included guys like tight end MyCole Pruitt, tackle David Quessenberry and, last season, running back D’Onta Foreman. All three were depth players and/or practice squad members for the 2017 Texans, which means they almost certainly spent a lot of their practice time on the scout team offense providing the looks Vrabel wanted to make his defense better.

That is far too many connections to be a coincidence. Vrabel, clearly, liked what he had in Houston four years ago. In fact, it seems he liked it enough that he wants as much of it with him in Tennessee as possible.

There is one important thing to remember, though. For players, the average NFL career is less than four years. That means anyone from that 2017 Texans defense who joins the Titans now, such as Johnson, is a career removed from their time under Vrabel.

Regardless of how good things were then, how good can those players be now? Maybe Johnson will be a significant contributor to Tennessee’s defense this fall. Yet, based on those who have preceded him – or how that unit performed in many ways four years ago – there is no reason to expect that will be the case.