NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Mike Vrabel congratulated Brian Callahan when Tennessee hired him as Vrabel's successor as the Titans' head coach.
Vrabel also texted Callahan after being fired six games into his second season.
“I just remember all those coaches or people that reached out after I was let go,” Vrabel said. “I think that that’s important because nobody texts when you lose, they all text when you win. So, it’s a good reminder.”
Vrabel returns Sunday to coach against the franchise that gave him his first NFL head coaching job. He spent six seasons with the Titans and had three playoff berths, two AFC South titles, an AFC championship appearance and a 54-45 record.
With the New England Patriots 4-2 and sitting atop the AFC East in his first season, Sunday is Vrabel's opportunity to remind Titans fans and ownership what they lost by firing him in January 2024. Being on the other sideline will be a little different.
This is the Patriots' third straight road game, and New England comes in having won three straight with the last a 25-19 victory at New Orleans. Vrabel and his Patriots face a Tennessee franchise in turmoil.
“There’s a lot there to unpack outside of the interesting fact that I used to coach in Tennessee,” Vrabel said.
Not only was Callahan fired after a 1-5 start and 4-19 record, the Titans are 10-30 in a skid that started under Vrabel. Mike McCoy will debut as the Titans' interim coach, his first head coaching job since being fired by the San Diego Chargers at the end of the 2016 season.
McCoy isn't worried about keeping the Titans' attention with this franchise looking for their first home win since beating the Patriots in overtime Nov. 3, 2024. Tennessee is home after its own three-game road swing capped by a 20-10 loss at the Las Vegas Raiders.
“This is the NFL,” McCoy said. “We all have a job to do.”
The Patriots will be following Vrabel's approach ignoring all the attention that goes along with the coach's return to Tennessee.
“He’s not treating it like a big deal, so it’s kind of bleeding into us,” Patriots quarterback Drake Maye said. “We’re treating it like another week, another opponent, and treating it the same. The way he’s handling it is the right way.”
The Patriots already have matched their win total for each of the past two seasons and are not thinking ahead. Safety Jaylinn Hawkins said he gets the sense that New England is doing a good job at prioritizing improvement and letting results stem from that.
“We’re not really worried about the ‘he say-she say,’” Hawkins said. “I call it poison. It reminds you of poison. We’re not getting too high or too low. We’re trying to stay ready.”
It’s also why Vrabel doesn’t want his team motivated to win in Tennessee because of him.
“We’re not trying to win one for the Gipper here," Vrabel said. "We’re just trying to make sure these guys are focused on improving.”
Three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons is the one player the Patriots will have to watch with him off to the best start of his career. He's just the third tackle in 17 seasons with at least 4 1/2 sacks and eight tackles for loss in the first six games, joining Geno Atkins (2012 and 2018) and Aaron Donald (2015).
And Simmons wants a win as a team captain to help McCoy in his new role.
“We've got to make sure we're doing our part of helping him out as leaders and captains to keep this locker room together," Simmons said. "And making sure ... (we're) ready to go play against a good football team that's coming in here I’m sure that’s going to try to embarrass us at home.”
The Titans have placed a lot on the shoulders of rookie quarterback Cam Ward and now the No. 1 pick overall is working with a new head coach. Ward might have to do even more this week against one of the NFL’s top run defenses.
The Patriots rank fourth in the NFL against the run, allowing only 83.5 yards per game. New England is also allowing just 3.46 yards per rush through the first six games, the third-lowest mark in the NFL this season.
The Patriots are also the only team this season that has not surrendered 50 yards to a running back through the first six games.
The Titans hope to get nose tackle T'Vondre Sweat back from injured reserve for this game to help Simmons with all the double-teams he's faced. But wide receiver Calvin Ridley is out with the hamstring he hurt last week. Kicker Joey Slye is back after missing the last game with a right calf injury.
___ AP Sports Writer Kyle Hightower contributed to this report.
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