Titans have the assets for rebuild with coach Mike Vrabel's future in question

Updated Jan. 8, 2024 4:59 p.m. ET

Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have the seventh overall draft pick in April along with the second-most cap space to fix a roster that led the NFL in players used for a third straight season winning only six of its past 24 games.

Mike Vrabel's future as coach may be only one of many decisions the Titans make this offseason.

The Titans wrapped up Vrabel's sixth season with a 6-11 record in his first year with general manager Ran Carthon. They beat Jacksonville 28-20 on Sunday to deny their oldest division rival a second straight AFC South title. That was the first time Vrabel's Titans weren't playing for a postseason berth in the finale.

Vrabel's future has been a topic of speculation nationally since November, a couple of weeks after his induction into the Patriots' Hall of Fame. A three-time Super Bowl champ as a linebacker in New England, Vrabel has been listed repeatedly as a potential replacement should Bill Belichick leave.

As the Titans cleared out lockers Monday, the coach with a 56-48 record did not talk to reporters. It's the first time since the franchise moved to Tennessee in 1997 that the head coach wasn't available on the same day as players. But Vrabel is scheduled to speak later this week.

Vrabel said last week that “of course he wants to be here" in 2024.

Will Levis, who went 3-6 as a rookie after replacing veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill, has heard some of the speculation. The 33rd pick out of Kentucky said he hopes everything stays the same so the Titans can grow.

“He’s going to communicate with us as soon as he knows,” Levis said of Vrabel.

Two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons dismissed the talk, noting everyone thought he was being traded before he signed his extension last offseason.

“I would love Coach Vrabel to be my coach next year and years to come," Simmons said. “But at the end of the day, this is a business. ... We'll see.”

Vrabel signed a contract extension after a 2021 season where he won the AP NFL Coach of the Year award.

The Titans break ground on a new enclosed stadium expected to cost $2.1 billion sometime this spring, which is set to open for the 2027 season. That only adds to the pressure of making the right decisions from top to bottom moving forward.

KING HENRY'S FUTURE

Four-time Pro Bowler Derrick Henry, who finished second in the NFL in rushing, turned in his best game this season days after turning 30. Afterward, he talked about his time in Tennessee and desire to test free agency.

Henry became the fourth player in NFL history with at least 90 rushing touchdowns in his first eight seasons. He ran for 12 TDs, making him the sixth in league history to do that in at least five seasons. He also had the 13th game of his career with at least 150 yards rushing and a rushing TD.

Only Jim Brown (18), LaDainian Tomlinson (16) and O.J. Simpson (15) have more such games. The Titans drafted Tyjae Spears in the third round out of Tulane, and he had his first multi-TD game of the season in the finale.

“The Super Bowl is definitely my next goal,” Henry said after the game. “That’s where I want to get. So, wherever that comes and whoever can help get close to that, that’s what we’re going to do.”

REVOLVING DOOR

The franchise used an NFL-high 83 players this season. Only three Titans started all 17 games led by Henry, center Aaron Brewer and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.

Just 12 Titans played in all 17 games led by three-time All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who led the team with 75 catches for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns, defensive lineman Denico Autry who had a career-high 11 1/2 sacks and outside linebacker Harold Landry III with 10 1/2 sacks.

DEFENSIVE PROWESS

The Titans led the NFL with the stingiest defense when backed up inside their 20. They gave up only 23 TDs on 61 attempts for a 37.7% conversion rate that was the league's best since the 2017 Chargers held opponents to a 36.1 TD rate. They finished 16th allowing 21.6 points a game.

OFFENSIVE ISSUES

Even with Henry second in the NFL in rushing, the Titans have to fix an offensive line they revamped last offseason by using the 11th overall pick on Peter Skoronski out of Northwestern. They slotted him at left guard, and free agent Andre Dillard started 10 of 16 games played.

Yet only Washington, the Giants and Carolina gave up more than the 64 sacks allowed by Tennessee. The Jets also gave up 64.

First-year offensive coordinator Tim Kelly showed flashes of creativity. But the Titans finished 28th in yards per game, 29th in passing and tied for 27th in averaging 17.9 points a game.

Levis also will need more help. Wide receiver Treylon Burks, the 18th pick overall in 2022, finishing with only 16 catches and 221 yards. There was a 529-yard gap in yards receiving between Hopkins and the next-closest receiver in second-year tight end Chig Okonkwo.

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