The window was open. From Jan. 4, 2020, to April 28, 2022, the Tennessee Titans were Super Bowl contenders.
For all the shit former Titans coach Jeff Fisher took for consistently finishing 8-8 (or thereabouts), his successors’ records didn’t journey far from the .500 mark. The last two Mike Mularkey teams finished 9-7. The first two Mike Vrabel squads? You guessed it, 9-7. As much excitement and momentum as there was behind Vrabel, the team felt a lot like the same old Titans.
But then the 2019-20 playoffs happened. Despite another 9-7 season, the Titans shocked the league during the postseason. First, they knocked off defending Super Bowl champions the New England Patriots on the road. The last game of Tom Brady’s time with the Patriots — the NFL’s Evil Empire — ended with a Logan Ryan pick-six.
In the divisional round, the Titans disposed of their longtime postseason kryptonite, the Baltimore Ravens, with ease. Baltimore was the AFC’s top seed and employed the MVP, Lamar Jackson. It didn’t matter. In the AFC Championship Game, Tennessee faced the mighty Kansas City Chiefs at a raucous Arrowhead Stadium. Despite the odds, the Titans were winning 17-14 with just a few seconds left before halftime. People across the state were calling their financial advisers as they looked up the price of Super Bowl tickets. But we all know what happened next: Patrick Mahomes scrambled 27 yards for a touchdown, and the Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl.
It was a brutal loss, but the Titans were young and hungry, with a coach who seemingly everyone believed in. The next two seasons were the most successful for the franchise since its first years in Nashville.
In 2020, the Titans won the AFC South and Derrick Henry became just the eighth running back in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, en route to winning Offensive Player of the Year. But the Titans lost at home to the Ravens in the playoffs, a tale as old as time.
In 2021, the Titans were — somehow, through a combination of grit, luck, trick plays and a Michael Jordan-esque ability to win close games — the top seed in the AFC.
Coach took team to playoffs three times, but Titans struggled in past two seasons
Vrabel was named the NFL Coach of the Year. Nissan Stadium was practically vibrating during the divisional round matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals … which the Titans promptly lost in frustrating fashion.
That offseason, Titans general manager Jon Robinson traded away star wide receiver A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles. Vrabel was reportedly not happy with the decision, nor was Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk. It was a major factor in Robinson’s firing later that year.
The Titans have gone 13-21 since the trade, which at the time (and even more so with hindsight) felt like the franchise’s Super Bowl window being voluntarily slammed shut. At this season’s trade deadline, the Titans dealt Kevin Byard — the Mayor of Murfreesboro himself — to the Eagles. Henry will most likely sign with a contender in the offseason. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill seems spent, and despite Will Levis showing some promise, fans are afraid to embrace the 24-year-old as the signal-caller of the future. It’s an understandable fear considering what happened to past QBs Vince Young and Marcus Mariota after impressive rookie seasons.
Jeffery Simmons, ever dominant even during losses, is a worthy foundational defensive player to build upon, but the rest of the roster is made up mostly of veterans left over from the contending days or young players who have yet to make a mark. Fans and analysts alike spent most of the season debating whether the Titans should tank for a higher draft pick, something that seemed unlikely with Vrabel at the helm. Would he be patient enough to sit through a potentially long rebuild?
The question will go unanswered, as the Titans fired Vrabel on Tuesday, ending a six-year run that included three playoff appearances and a 54-45 overall record. Rumors swirled on Monday in the lead up to the decision, including a potential trade to the Patriots, where Vrabel spent his most successful seasons as a player, or a return to his alma mater Ohio State. Critics questioned the Titans' decision to fire Vrabel rather than seeking some form of compensation in return. Others pondered if the reported rift between Vrabel and general manager Ran Carthon, architect of a dominant San Francisco 49ers roster, was too deep.
No matter the reason for the decision, the Titans will be starting over in 2024 with a new coach, a roster of unfamiliar faces, and looming pressure to produce a watchable product with a $2.1 billion stadium on the way.
Most signs point to 2024 being another year of wandering the desert for the Titans. For a franchise that’s had more than its share of mediocrity, a dormant period might actually be easier to stomach, as long as there is a clear goal of future contention in mind.
Editor's note: A version of this story went to press before the Jan. 9 announcement of Mike Vrabel's firing. The story has since been updated.
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