The New England Patriots will travel to Tennessee this season and it’s already poised to be the most anticipated game of the season, as Mike Vrabel will return to Nissan Stadium after being fired by the Titans at the end of the 2023 season.
Vrabel was fired for a blend of reasons that focused on a lack of communication between the new general manager, Ryan Carthon, and the owner, Amy Adams Strunk, that resulted in disagreements of the direction of the team differing from what Vrabel wanted.
It was reported that Vrabel voiced to Adams Strunk that he wanted to have control of the roster after the team fired former general manager Jon Robinson, and before they hired Carthon. But Adams Strunk emphatically disagreed with the idea, which led to a strain on their relationship.
Vrabel also suggested having the vice president of player personnel, Ryan Cowden, step in as general manager, which, again, Adams Strunk didn’t like the idea of Vrabel suggesting a different candidate than she had already decided on. This caused another hit on their relationship as well.
The cherry on top of everything was when Vrabel spent the Titans' bye week in Week 7 of 2023 with the Patriots at Gillette Stadium getting inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame. Vrabel made comments during his speech that were directed towards the Titans' front office and ownership that didn’t go over well in Tennessee.
“I don’t want you to take this organization for granted. I’ve been to a lot of places. This is a special place with great leadership, great fans, great direction, and great coaching. Enjoy it. It’s not like this everywhere.”
The Patriots released the list of teams that they’ll be playing this season, both at home and away, but not the dates yet, as the NFL schedule release isn’t until May 14.
That said, Tennessee is listed as an away game on the Patriots website, and it’s likely going to be the most anticipated game on the schedule as both the players and the fans will want to support their head coach in what could be a revenge game for Vrabel.
There’s a lot more than just football surrounding this game, but speaking on the game, it should be one that the Patriots win, as New England is further along in their rebuild than Tennessee is in recent years.
Vrabel deserves to walk into his old stadium with his new team and show the Titans that they made a mistake by not agreeing to some of the suggestions and recommendations that led to the falling out with them.
I’m not saying that Vrabel regrets anything, but it’s always a good feeling when you can feel vindicated on behalf of a former employer. Hopefully, he’ll have that with the Patriots.
One last note on this. Vrabel and Cowden are going into Nissan Stadium with a new and improved team that they helped build, which is something that the Titans would allow them to do during their tenure in Tennessee.