Derrick Henry expresses disbelief at Mike Vrabel’s resignation from the Titans, and Taylor Lewan reacts live on television.

The Tennessee Titans have formally begun the process of selecting their new head coach. After six seasons, the organization announced on Tuesday that head coach Mike Vrabel had been sacked.

In his first four years with the Titans, Vrabel guided the team to three postseason trips; however, they were not in the postseason the next two seasons. Tennessee finished this season at the bottom of the AFC South with a 6-11 record.

The announcement stunned a lot of people, including his former players and members of the media. Running back Derrick Henry, who has played for the Titans his whole career, responded to the news of his termination.

“Whoa. Whoa. It shocks me. Coach Vrabel leads by example. He is an excellent instructor and coach. I’m confident he’ll have another chance soon. Being a free agent this summer, Henry stated, “I look forward to it” (via Dianna Russini).

Henry will probably be going someplace else as well, since in the Titans’ last 2023 game, he appeared to bid the team and its supporters farewell. The running back referred to his eight seasons with the Titans as the best of his career, and he led the team for six of those seasons.

Another former player of Vrabel’s expressed his amazement at the news and nothing but praise for the head coach. Taylor Lewan, the former offensive lineman with the Titans, was clearly stunned to hear of the firing during a live broadcast of the Rich Eisen Show.

“That is absurd. It became very evident to me as the season went on that Vrabes was not the issue. It was simply not a talented enough club to be genuinely competitive in the NFL. Lewan remarked, “I cannot believe it. You could point a lot of fingers, but I didn’t think the finger you could properly point at was Vrabel.”

Lewan, who spent all six of Vrabel’s seasons as head coach in Tennessee, was a player for the team and mentioned some of its successes during his tenure.

Lewan declared, “He’s the best; that’s what he is.” “We were at an AFC Championship under Vrabel, and we were in a position to be Super Bowl candidates… I adore that franchise, and I adore Amy [Adams Strunk], the owner. They may have merely erred, in my opinion. I believe they just made a grave error.”

Lewan thinks Vrabel will “be perfectly fine,” noting that clubs looking to fill vacancies will be greatly interested in him since he can win games.

The owner of the Titans, Amy Adams Strunk, praised Vrabel for his contributions to the organization and the community while describing the termination as a tough choice.

She stated, “I think the clubs best positioned for sustainable success will be those who empower an integrated and collaborative team across all football operations as the NFL continues to develop and grow.” “In order to carry out that goal, we started a change in our philosophy of football leadership last year and made a number of personnel adjustments. My assessment of our team’s condition led me to the conclusion that a new coaching staff would bring new ideas and perspectives to the table.

Vrabel took his first head coaching position with the Titans, where he ended up with a 54-45 record and a 545 winning percentage. In postseason action, he finished 2-2.

Although Vrabel’s future is still unknown, a lot of people are speculating that he may rejoin the New England Patriots, with whom he played and won three Super Bowls. There may be a way for Vrabel to return, given the uncertainty surrounding current head coach Bill Belichick’s future. Interested clubs include the Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Las Vegas Raiders, and Washington Commanders.