Analysis of the Browns hiring of Mike Vrabel

The addition could have plenty of implications for

After the 2023 NFL season, the Tennessee Titans fired their head coach Mike Vrabel after going 7-10-0 and 6-11-0 in consecutive seasons.

Before then, the Titans had never had a losing season under Vrabel and went to the playoffs three years in a row and even made an appearance in the AFC Championship Game in 2019, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 32-24. He won the 2021 NFL Coach of The Year Award.

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Before his last two seasons while with Tennessee, Vrabel had a combined 41-24-0 record for a .631 win percentage, which is good enough for anybody. It was assumed that Vrabel would be on the shortlist for every vacant NFL head coaching position.

Yet, that didn’t happen. He interviewed for the vacancies with the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers. At the time, the other vacancies included the Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders, and Seattle Seahawks. Later, he was reportedly viewed as a strong candidate for the Seahawks job.

Vrabel played 14 years as a linebacker under Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots and was on squads that captured three Super Bowls. Vrabel broke into coaching in 2011 and quickly rose through the ranks. As a player, he was named to one Pro Bowl, was elected First Team All-Pro in 2007, and was selected to the Patriots 50^th Anniversary Team.

The Cleveland Browns had ties to Vrabel. DC Jim Schwartz was hired by the Titans as a senior defensive assistant for the 2021 season after a successful five-year career with the Philadelphia Eagles. Schwartz held that title for two seasons as Philly became a Top-5 defense three years under his tenure.

At the time, Vrabel stated on the hiring of Schwartz:

“We are excited to add Jim to our staff. He has a deep level of football knowledge and has overseen a great deal of success on the defensive side of the ball, so it is always good to add a quality coach to our staff. This role will provide our defensive staff with Jim’s experience and perspective in the staff meetings and on the practice field.”

Photo by Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The idea was that Schwartz would become a resource for Titans’ DC Shane Bowen as well as the remainder of the defensive staff. Being hired on with Tennessee was a homecoming for Schwartz as he was employed from 1999-2008 and only left to become the head coach of the Detroit Lions.

In Schwartz’s first year, the Titans’ defense was ranked sixth overall.

So, after Vrabel did not get hired to any NFL club’s head coaching jobs or a defensive coordinator position, he was suddenly available. The Browns reached out. Just as Vrabel had hired Schwartz after he became unemployed, Schwartz wanted to reciprocate and ultimately hired Vrabel.

For Vrabel, the move brought him back to his home state of Ohio as he was born in Akron, then grew up in Cuyahoga Falls attending Walsh Jesuit High School, and eventually became a standout All-American linebacker for Ohio State.

Added to the Browns’ defensive staff

On March 15, 2024, Vrabel was hired as a Coaching and Personnel Consultant.

What is behind this hiring? What are Vrabel’s duties? Was the hiring an improvement, or just one coach helping another out? Could it be Vrabel’s hiring was the best move in free agency? Could this be a move to replace Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski as another head coach in waiting?

There is a whirlwind of thoughts on this hiring.

Was this a good hire? The Browns added a tough guy known for being a dynamic defender. He was a former NFL Coach of the Year. He has three Super Bowl rings and is listed on the Ohio State Football All-Century Team.

Vrabel has a creative defensive mind who is not stuck way back in 1980. He interviewed for three NFL head coaching positions and will be the top guy when the firings occur after next season. He could have taken a year off but wants to be involved now. This year.

Plus, he is just the latest name to be added to this year’s coaching staff along with Tommy Rees, Duce Staley, Ken Dorsey, Jacques Cesaire, Andy Dickerson, and Roy Istvan.

The hiring of Vrabel means that currently, the Browns have three minds who have been head coaches in the league – two of which own Super Bowl hardware. When making personnel decisions and game-planning, all of this knowledge will come into play. This will make the job for Schwartz and Stefanski easier on all fronts.

SetNumber: X74571 TK1 R10

Vrabel is also an AFC guy from his stints with New England, Houston Texans plus the Titans, who will have information and knowledge of various clubs in the conference.

The appointment might just be a blip on the transaction’s ticker tape, but this should become an exceptional one-year gun for hire who will bring just as much energy to the defense as Schwartz does and embodies hard work.

The national media talked about the Browns last year because of their defense and the fine work Schwartz did to transform this group. But now, the media is forced to discuss Cleveland because of Vrabel being in the house.

Both Schwartz and Vrabel know how to get men to play for them and get maximum no-quit from the roster.

What exactly is a consultant’s role?

Who knows.

Will this be a daily appearance at the Berea facilities for Vrabel or something he can do at home and become a Zoom call away from entering his two cents each week? He still has his 6,111 square foot, six bedroom/eight bath home in the Nashville area.

Regardless, he is a leader of men. The question would seem to be, will he be assigned any defensive chores whatsoever? Or simply, give his thoughts and theories on each opponent weekly?

After all, you can’t have enough great minds.

Vrabel and Schwartz already have a good working relationship. And now with Stefanski, Schwartz, and Vrabel all in the same building, this means Cleveland enters the 2024 season with a coaching staff that has three of the last six Coach of the Year awards, plus four Super Bowl rings.

These are coaches who love to coach and teach the game of football. In addition, each has minimal ego to worry about. Winning games appear to trump all else for these guys regardless of who gets the credit.

Vrabel hired Schwartz in 2021. That just so happened to be the year Vrabel won Coach of the Year. Schwartz was hired by the Browns in 2023. That just so happened to be the year that Stefanski won his second Coach of the Year Award. Plus, DE Myles Garrett was finally adorned with his first Defensive Player of the Year Award.

See a trend?

It’s a culture-builder thing. First, it was Bill Musgrave as a consultant for the offense, and now it is the defense’s turn to bring in another superb defensive mind.

It will remain to be seen just how much of a role Vrabel will have visually with the team. Will he be roaming the sidelines during training camp? Maybe he will just work as many hours as he wants and then give input.

The key element here is that Vrabel will be sure not to overstep his workload and get in the way of Schwartz. They say when you cast a play, the worst cast members are former directors.

The plan should become that Vrabel will become a sounding board for Stefanski. He will also be a resource for a coaching staff that is energetic but relatively young and will need direction.

Stefanski’s eventual replacement?

No coach would ever hire a guy with the idea that if the season doesn’t go well, there is talent already in-house to take over. Yes, Vrabel will make a good head coach once again.

But Stefanski is the reigning NFL Coach of the Year. How is he feeling inadequate? The Browns won 11 games last year and could have ended up with 12 as they gave away the finale against the Cincinnati Bengals in a game that they had nothing to play for.

Cleveland made the playoffs last year. Why would anyone be talking about Stefanski not being the head coach going forward? That is ludicrous.

Hiring Vrabel is a way to keep him involved in the NFL. He is not a talking head, and if he had gotten a network studio job, he would not be good at it just like Jason Witten a few years back. Schwartz reciprocated the job hire, and Vrabel will be an asset within the organization – for one season.

Since the Andrew Berry/Stefanski period began in 2020, the Browns have 37 total wins, the 11^th most in the league during that period.

Both men were hired on five-year deals going into their final year. Extensions are just a matter of time. At the recent owner’s meeting in Orlando, Cleveland owner Jimmy Haslam stated that these extensions were close to being finalized with attorneys and agents going over the final details.

So, no – Stefanski has no thoughts that Vrabel will take over his job.

If you take out the two interim head coaches for the Browns Nick Skorich and Gregg Williams, Stefanski currently ranks fourth in all-time franchise win percentage for Cleveland with a 37-30-0 record and a win ratio of .552. That only trails Paul Brown (.767), Blanton Collier (.691), and Marty Schottenheimer (.620). Coach Brown is the only Browns coach with more Coach of the Year honors (4) while Stefanski’s two distinctions tie Sam Rutigliano’s pair.

Plainly put: Vrabel is a resource. He’s a resource for Schwartz and a resource for Stefanski.

Browns fans should be very, very excited to have him.