As Dumb as the Titans Firing Vrabel?

38 comments

1. Considering vrabel never made or won a Super Bowl it was way more dumb.

2. If coaches were judged on what they did 18 years ago Bill Bellichick would still be our coach. The Ravens clearly made an all in type of push the last couple years and not making the playoffs this year is inexcusable.

3. With that logic, we would have never moved on from Belichick. At a certain point things get stale, tension grows, and a change of scenery is necessary. 

4. Sometimes it’s just time for a change.

   Titans definitely moved on from Vrabel too early though.

5. There was definitely more to it than getting fired just because Loop missed the kick

6. Not doing anything with two mvp (should be three) seasons from Lamar in a row is a pretty big knock against him in Baltimore at this point.

   His overall tenure was definitely good but it does seem like a change of pace is needed

7. It seems like a premature firing to me. I don’t know how they’re going to do better. But after 18 years, maybe it’s just time for a change? I mean, Belichick was given the rope to hang himself here – maybe Baltimore thinks they’re just getting ahead of it?

   And it’s nice for people to say that the kicker lost the playoff berth on the last play of the season – and it’s true – but how many coaching decisions put them in that position in the first place? Off the top of my head (and the only one I really paid attention to) I remember way back in Week 16 that Harbaugh inexplicably sat Henry when he had the Pats’ number all game. They very well may have won that game if Henry plays at the end. Were there other examples in the 7 other losses that were coaching-related?

   Just as I think it may be premature of Baltimore, I think it’s disingenuous to put it all on the kicker.

   All that having been said, as a fan of on-field NFL drama, I think it would be hilarious if Harbaugh is the one to start 12 years of Cleveland AFC North dominance. So that’s what I’m rooting for.

8. Vrabel needed the firing to become a better coach. He wasn’t the same guy then and he wouldn’t be who he is now as a coach without a little humbling. It was the right move for the titans at the time, unfortunately for them they were going to come out losers either way.

   That being said Toby Dungy is a fucking donkey and I don’t give a shit about his opinion or what he has to say. I honestly don’t know if this is a bad or good move and the ravens fan base seems split on the decision. I think it wasn’t a great decision but I kinda get how they came to it.

9. Him blaming the kicker for not making the playoffs this season is an absolute L take.

10. It was a smart move actually.

    The Steelers should axe Tomlinson as well after they get bounced in the first round.

11. Harbaugh wasn’t fired due to this year alone, it’s been brewing. People forget he was about to be fired right before Lamar saved him. But as I say about Tomlin as well, simply making the playoffs without much growth for a decade is not enough.

12. Sometimes a change is needed. My ravens fan friends all acknowledge that he will probably succeed elsewhere but also that his time in Baltimore had run its course. The locker room, fans and apparently the FO in Baltimore were done with him.

13. From what I understand he lost Lamar and the locker room. But I dunno man, it isn’t Harbaugh’s fault Lamar sucks in the playoffs. It’s the opposite of Buffalo where Allen regularly puts up 30 but McDermott’s D folds

14. Nothing will trump the bulls moving on from Phil but in the nfl the raiders decision to get rid of gruden after tuck rule was ridiculous

15. This all reminds me of me watching TV with my out of touch mother. She saw him on TV and said “TONY DUNGY IS FAMOUS??”

    Turns out that she knew his family growing up (she’s a decade older).

    I just laughed because he played in the NFL and coached and she had no idea.

16. When every team with an opening, and at least one without an opening, reaches out to your fired coach in the first 30 minutes after it goes public, you’re probably making a mistake.

17. I (pats fan) am so glad they fired vrabel. Harbaugh will be fine and some other team is going to be as happy as the pats soon.

18. I agree with Tony, If I were the owner of the Ravens I wouldn’t fire him because I’m not sure anyone else available could do better. However, this will make for a really interesting off season. We already knew there would be a bunch of coaches available and moving around, Harbaugh was not one I had guessed would be among them.

    I would be interested to see him with the Giants or Raiders. Both teams are poised to be winners with another weapon or two.

19. What’s interesting is I agree with him and I also agree with the firing – at what point do you just accept the fact that Harbaugh cannot beat a Mike Tomlin led Steelers? Steelers should not have been able to sweep the Ravens – He just couldn’t and even when he did he couldn’t do better than the Steelers in the post season. Of course all things are considered and my take is relative but you gotta admit, his postseason records lately have been terrible and baffling not to mention the 16 losses when leading under 5 minutes in the 4th quarter – no decent team even comes close to that number. Plus, they said he lost the locker room so there goes anyone’s job if / when that happens.

20. As a pats fan relocated to the Raven’s area I’ve seen plenty of them. They got this one right, Harbaugh is the main thing holding back the Ravens from winning a championship. No disrespect he was a great coach in the past but he seems lost in the current meta. With Lamar and Henry in the backfield he has repeatedly been too scared to go for it on big 4th and 2s, they’ve had offensive identity crisis for multiple years now, the defense has been sliding backwards for multiple years, and this may get overlooked but 2 years ago at half time in the afc championship they were trailing a Chiefs team riddled with injuries (the game where Kelce came out and knocked away all the practice balls from Justin Tucker) and Harbaugh comes out with a “we’ve got them right where we want them” statement. I don’t ever put stock into sideline reporting but I gasped at that response, like what was he talking about? They ofc did not have them where they wanted them the game got worse and the Ravens lost. The fact he didn’t want to make adjustments in that game was the moment I realized he no longer knew his position in the modern nfl. They’ve thrown away multiple superbowl caliber teams and are sliding further and further away, it’s time to give someone else a try.

    Can Harbaugh go somewhere else and be successful? Probably, with a more traditional style. But I firmly believe he had hit the ceiling of his potential with Lamar and the Ravens. Also worth noting the list of quarterbacks his defense couldn’t solve was growing each season.

21. Dungy fucking suuuuuuuucks.

22. It’s dumb, but not as dumb.

    Vrabel was still on the upward leg of his coaching journey when TN fired him. The best was yet to come.

    Harbaugh is closer to the end than the beginning, so even if firing him was the wrong move you’re not missing out on as much.

23. Regardless of his skill level, if him losing Lamar was enough to create a divided locker room and the team lost its sole leader, what choice does the organization have?

    You either fire Jim or you trade Lamar.

    The issue is in replacing one of the two. If you trade Lamar, who do you replace him with? You’d have to trade for the first pick in the draft and pray they hit.

    If you fire Jim, you have to bring in someone capable of leading a team to a Super Bowl. And there just aren’t that many good coaches to choose from. And the up and comers are unproven, so it could be a disaster.

    Personally, and I know this is a controversial opinion, I’d trade Lamar.

    He is lightning in a bottle talent wise, but like any QB whose running is upper echelon but decision making is not great when it matters most, time is running out to have the former compensate for the latter. I don’t think he ever wins a Super Bowl.

    Jim can coach. Period. He’s a proven commodity. I take the proven guy and attempt to get him a QB that can manage the offense over an aging QB with world class wheels and hoping we can get a coach in there that can lead the room and take them to the promise land.

    If it didn’t work with a coach of Jim’s caliber, what makes us think it’ll work with what’s available to choose from?

24. Ideally, your playoff chances shouldn’t come to a final kick in week 18.

25. The Ravens have been an example of one of those teams that’s been hitting the same ceiling repeatedly for a while now. Stuck in the phase of too good to truly suck but not having enough to really break through. Add on top of that some very questionable choices that cost some winnable games. Sometimes you just have to rip the bandage off and make a change like that.

26. I’m so sick of his high and mighty act. Without Manning he was just a coach. And then add in the stuff with his son and he should just go away.

27. I posted yesterday that I feel like the only person who thinks good coaches are being fired too quickly.

    At least I’m not alone.

    This feels like a good topic for a podcast. A long format debate between nfl insiders or something. Basically every coach of this ilk hasn’t lost their passion, knowledge, or drive. They just run out of talent on the roster, which I would argue happens to everyone eventually. Why not give a good coach the resources and time to rebuild instead of hoping to find another good coach. It seems illogical.

28. The Ravens are in a very similar boat to the Steelers, many joked that the end of that game would decide which of the two head coaches would get fired. Yea they both on the precipice for playoffs, but they also would be the worst team both by record and general strength if they made playoffs.

    Both teams kinda need to rebuild a little, the Steelers moreso than the Ravens due to the lack of a QB and aging stars, but both teams have been mediocre for a while and one of the main things keeping them above water was their coaches.

    Yea he has a very successful history as a head coach, but it is history, not the present. Under Harbough they were trending towards long term mediocrity. With him gone, maybe they find someone who can turn it around, maybe they are bad for a while and get the needed help through the draft to springboard back into contention. It isn’t dissimlair to us firing Bill.

    Ultimately it may prove mutually beneficial. Sounds like Harbough will get his pick of which team to coach next and there are some solid options to choose from like the Giants or Falcons who already have some of the important pieces.

29. His in game management has been terrible and unless they front run on the opponent, they tend to get beat when it counts.

30. 100% just a dumb as firing Vrabel. Some team out there just hit the jackpot and I hope it’s not the Giants.

31. Harbaugh and Vrabel are top-10 NFL coaches right now and the past 5 years. That doesn’t mean Tennessee or Baltimore were wrong in moving on. At certain points employees no longer fit and it’s time for a change.

32. Dungy doesn’t understand how coaches can lose the room after twenty years?

    Is he really that stupid?

33. The other way to look at it is, he has had Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Pollard, Suggs, Derrick Henry, Lamar Jackson and countless other all Pros at various points in their careers and have not been able to win more than a single ring.

34. He’s made one AFC Championship game since 2012 so let’s slow the roll here Tone.

35. After seeing how bad Belichick was at the end of his Patriots career and him subsequently getting fired for it nothing surprises me anymore.

    I still love and hold him in high regard but holy shit that last year was a train wreck that I thought I would never see.

36. I don’t think Lamar Jackson got along with the coach so they picked Lamar over him.

    Also, vs the Pats, Derrick Henry couldn’t be stopped then he was taken out of the game and the Ravens lost. The following week Henry had over 200 yards rushing. I thought that was bad coaching. Things like this got him fired. Not a missed FG.

37. They will probably hire stefanski

38. Remember when they never made it past the afc championship game?