The Cleveland Browns shook up the football world once again with their addition of former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.
Vrabel was coming off the worst coaching season of his career and back-to-back seasons of missing the playoffs.
Hence, in today’s “win now” football world, the Titans decided it was time to move on, and they fired Vrabel at the end of the 2023-24 season.
While it was expected that Vrabel would draw interest from other teams in search of a head coach, he ended up going unsigned before getting swept up by the Browns as a playing and personnel consultant.
While some were skeptical about the move at first, given Vrabel’s coaching experience and winning track record, most analysts, including Ian Rapoport, believe it’s a great move for the Browns (via Pat McAfee on Twitter).
Rapoport stated that bringing Vrabel into the fold provides the Browns with cheap but excellent help.
It’s “cheap” help because Vrabel is still getting paid his annual salary by the Titans.
While it’s unclear how much the Browns are paying him, it likely isn’t as much as the Titans were as a head coach.
It’s also excellent help because Vrabel is considered one of the top forward-thinking minds in the game.
And, since he’s going to one of the most forward-thinking franchises in football, it seems like a match made in heaven.
Additionally, as a former Ohio State standout and Akron native, the move offers Vrabel a chance to return to his home state and help carry his local team growing up to a Super Bowl.