NASHVILLE – Titans coach Mike Vrabel held a season-ending video conference call with reporters on Monday, one day after the team's 20-13 playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
On Monday, the team held a final meeting and players went their separate ways for the offseason.
Here's a look at some of the hot topics from today's call:
-Vrabel led off the presser thanking the team's ownership group for having an opportunity to lead the football team. "It's not the result that any of us wanted, but I appreciate their support as we worked through a difficult year." Vrabel also thanked the players and coaches for their commitment throughout the offseason and season. He also thanked the team's support staff for keep everyone safe, and he acknowledged the media while thanking the group for covering the team.
-Vrabel spoke to players for the final time on Monday and said "this is a tough day for 31 teams that don't win a championship. But we are going to look to build a new team for 2021." Vrabel said there will be new players, and said the coaching staff could look different, "that's just the nature of it." "But we have high expectations here every year," he said. "I am proud to coach (this team) and proud they stuck together. No one is happy with the result."
-Vrabel was asked multiple times about the future of the defensive coordinator position, and title, moving forward. He said the organization plans to evaluate every position on the staff, and on the roster. Ultimately, Vrabel said outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen played a big role on defense in 2020. "I think this thing kind of took a life of its own. … Shane led the meetings, Shane led the walk-throughs, Shane called the defense and I think we get caught up too much in titles. … We'll coach better, we'll play better, but those are things we have to do in all three phases."
-Vrabel said he has a lot of faith in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who has started the process of interviewing for head-coaching jobs across the NFL. "I think Arthur would do a great job," Vrabel said. "I have a lot of respect for Arthur. Arthur has always done the best job in the job that he'd had – he hasn't worked the telephones or tried to undercut anybody. … I have a lot of trust in Arthur as a person, first and foremost. So I know he'd do a fantastic job leading anybody's team." As for what the Titans might do to replace him, Vrabel said "Arthur is still our offensive coordinator and when he no longer is, we'll look to replace him."
-Vrabel didn't provide any new information on first-round pick Isaiah Wilson, who ended the season on the team's Reserve/Non-Football Illness list: "I can't comment on Isaiah. I wouldn't even begin to be able to eloquently have an answer for you."
-When asked why receiver Corey Davis didn't finish Sunday's game, Vrabel said: "We don't talk about injuries, but clearly if Corey was able to finish that football game, he would have. He would have tried to do everything that he could to help us win, but that wasn't going to be a possibility at that time."
-Vrabel said the Titans didn't have receiver Adam Humphries available for Sunday because he was still dealing with the concussion symptoms that resulted in him finishing the year on Injured Reserve. "He finished the year on Injured Reserve, so he wasn't cleared to play in the football game," Vrabel said. "He's still in concussion protocol."
-Vrabel was asked again about the decision to punt on 4th and 2 from the 40. Vrabel said he regularly evaluates decisions that don't work out, but reiterated he made the decision because "we felt like we'd get a stop, that we'd get the ball back and score. They hit a couple of plays, we held them to a field goal and we had an opportunity at the end. We made a decision and went with it, and tried to be as decisive as we could, but we lost the game. But there's a lot of those decisions that come up throughout the game."
-Vrabel said he's hopeful more fans will be allowed at Nissan Stadium in 2021: "I'd like to thank our fans. … It was cool to see those fans out there for a playoff game – I thought they were into it. I can't wait to get everybody back in our stadium, get them back for practice. I know how important that is to a community. We want to have a winning product and we want to have a team that they can be proud of, the way they play, that plays with great effort, is physical, and plays together as a team."
