Mike Vrabel Is Going To Be A Better NFL Head Coach Candidate In Next Hiring Cycle

Outwardly, Mike Vrabel has been like a little bee at this Cleveland Browns training camp -- buzzing over here to help the tight ends with their blocking, pollinating the linebacker group with some knowledge, and even flying down the field with quarterback Jameis Winston before practice.

The former Tennessee Titans head coach is seemingly all over, trying to help the Browns in whatever way he can. But he's also helping to make himself a more formidable head coach candidate for next winter's round of head coach interviews.

photo c/o Getty Images

Vrabel Time In Cleveland Not Long-Term

"Well, it’s been amazing to be able to get back on the field and coach and try to help where I can and, most importantly, learn," Vrabel told reporters on Tuesday. "Be a part of a great staff with some really great veteran coaches, with some really great young and up-and-coming coaches. So, wherever I can help, I’m more than willing to try to do that."

Vrabel is officially a coaching consultant with the Browns. But, let's be honest, this isn't meant to be a long-term assignment. 

This is Vrabel staying active but also honing his skills, expanding his resume, so that next January when the NFL season turns to coach firing and hiring season, he is positioned as a strong replacement option.

A more well-rounded candidate.

Vrabel spent six seasons as the head coach with the Tennessee Titans and compiled a 54-45 record in that time. But things went sideways the past two seasons as the Titans suffered consecutive losing seasons.

Wisconsin Badgers football coach Luke Fickell says former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel will start spending time around the program. (Credit: USA Today Sports Network)

Mike Vrabel Collaborative With Browns

Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk apparently wanted a more collaborative approach to her leadership team and, obviously, Vrabel didn't fit her vision.

Now, Vrabel is addressing whatever whispers there might be about his ability to collaborate by, well, collaborating in Cleveland.

He's not a position coach, so he has to mind obvious lines when he's working with certain position groups. He's not going to have a game day role, so he's showing he understands when he has to step back.

It may be a little humbling. But it is certainly an opportunity for Vrabel to show he's not an ego-driven maniac that must demand things his way. He knows how to abound and how to abase. 

"I’m going to try to do anything that they ask me to do and be available to help throughout the week and then move ahead to the next opponent," Vrabel said. "And so that will all kind of happen organically, but that’s where I see it."

BEREA, OHIO - JUNE 05: Coaching and personnel consultant Mike Vrabel of the Cleveland Browns runs a drill with Giovanni Ricci #44 during an OTA offseason workout at their CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on June 5, 2024 in Berea, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

Browns Include Vrabel In Evaluations

Vrabel is also expanding and perhaps strengthening his personnel department chops. He worked for Browns general manager Andrew Berry during the offseason on talent evaluation.

"This is the opportunity that I think is best for me right now to be able to go through draft meetings, personnel meetings with Andrew and his staff and see how that all got navigated and how they may do things," Vrabel said.

"There’s 32 flavors in this league, and everybody does it a little differently. So, it’s been fun to be a part of this and try to help where I can and most especially learn." 

It's always better for a team when the head coach knows what kind of players he wants and how they fit his system.

It's always better when any coach can communicate to the personnel department what he wants and needs from players so they can go find them. Vrabel got a chance to hone that skill during Cleveland's personnel staff meetings.

"Well, just where they give you a list of players, you try to evaluate them, you try to figure out what they can do, figure out what they do best, figure out what their areas of focus are, write up a report, and then when asked about them in the meeting, try to give a concise answer to how you see the player, how they could fit, what roles they could fill, what positions they may be able to play," Vrabel said.

"And if they don’t call on you, then you just go on to the next player. And so that’s pretty much how those draft meetings went for me."

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel calls for an extra point after a TD vs. the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. (Rich Storry/Getty Images)

Vrabel Focused On Learning, Helping

This is a time for Vrabel to remain in the game and be active while also giving him opportunities to reflect. He's got an opportunity to improve so that his next round of head coach interviews leads to him being hired.

"I think that things that I’ll ultimately learn here may help me the next time that, you know, I get an opportunity to have one of those interviews," Vrabel said. "This is what I’m focused on, focused on doing that and learning here and helping. 

"And then, you know, if those opportunities present themselves after the season, then I’ll absolutely try to do that."