(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
The two most surprising moves made by teams in the NFL that were not playoff-bound this year were, without a doubt, the Seattle Seahawks moving Pete Carroll to a different role within their organization and the Tennessee Titans firing head coach Mike Vrabel.
Both head coaches were considered among the best in the league, with no speculation leaking about either one getting fired, but that’s precisely what happened once the Seahawks and Titans evaluated their respective teams and immediate futures.
With Carroll simply assuming a different role with the organization, it’s not even clear whether he wants to coach again in the NFL, especially considering he was the oldest head coach in the league before getting relieved of his coaching duties at 72.
As for Vrabel, there was some talk of the New England Patriots potentially trying to trade for him with Bill Belichick on his way out, but that didn’t happen as the team was dead set on Jerod Mayo being the new head coach.
Now, a report has surfaced via Dianna Russini of The Athletic on why Vrabel wasn’t immediately able to find a new head coaching gig in the NFL, with people reportedly being intimidated by his size.
Dianna Russini asked about Mike Vrabel on The Athletic Football Show:
“I don’t think there was a fit for him. I don’t think he sat in front of any owner who thought that his style was going to work for what they were looking for…I had a GM at the Senior Bowl who mentioned…
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) February 5, 2024
Here are some fan reactions to Vrabel not getting another head coaching job following the end of his Titans stint because he’s intimidating physically:
I refuse to believe this is real
— Khaled (@khaled74) February 5, 2024
Wiki lists Vrabel at 6-4, 261 and Dan Campbell at 6-5, 265. Glad the Lions front office isn’t full of scaredy cats.
— spartan1963 (@BlueChkMark18) February 5, 2024
The execs that think like that are softer than Charmin.
— Look at the Upside (@theupsidelook) February 5, 2024
This would be an insane reason not to hire him
— Penn State FB Thoughts (@PSU_FB_Thoughts) February 5, 2024
If this report is true and Vrabel was truly intimidating people during interviews with teams, that’s a pretty weak reason not to hire one of the best head coaches in the game today.
In fact, Vrabel likely dodged a bullet by not getting hired by teams that were intimidated by him, as he likely didn’t want to be in that kind of situation anyway.
The post Everyone’s In Disbelief About Why Teams Passed On Mike Vrabel appeared first on The Cold Wire.