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Tennessee Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk expands on firing Mike Vrabel, what's next for team
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- Tennessee Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk expands on firing Mike Vrabel, what's next for team
Tennessee Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk says she won't announce who gets final authority over the 53-man roster until after the team has decided who its next head coach will be.
Adams Strunk spoke with Titans announcer Mike Keith in a video posted on social media Tuesday afternoon just hours after the team parted ways with coach Mike Vrabel . Adams Strunk told Keith she's not quite ready to announce whether general manager Ran Carthon or the head coach will have decision-making power about the team's roster, but says she intends to make that announcement after the coaching search is complete.
In a statement earlier in the day, Adams Strunk indicated she wants more collaboration among the front office, coaching staff and ownership on the direction of the franchise, and Vrabel did not mesh with that vision.
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Adams Strunk expanded on that idea, and why she decided to dismiss Vrabel.
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"I have high expectations," she said. "I'll never apologize for that. These fans deserve a great team and they deserve a championship brought to this city. That's what we're going to work towards. I'm prepared to make the hard decisions to hopefully get us there sooner.
"This team has a bright future. We have Ran. We have a promising young quarterback. The sky is the limit. We've got cap space and a great draft position. Things are bright for the Titans. I'm really very, very optimistic. I'd like to thank the fans for hanging with us this year. Our season was unacceptable, but we're going to get there sooner rather than later."
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Adams Strunk said the decision to move on from Vrabel wasn't made over the course of a day, or even the past couple of months. She said it was a result of building dissatisfaction that bubbled up throughout the season. The Titans went 6-11 in 2023, finished last in the AFC South and lost 18 of their last 24 games with Vrabel. Prior to that, Tennessee had made the playoffs in three straight seasons, winning the AFC South twice and reaching the AFC Championship game once.
As to why the Titans fired Vrabel rather than trading him, Adams Strunk said she didn't want to draw out the process and have the last pick of potential head coaching candidates. By making the move Tuesday, the Titans will be able to interview candidates at the same time as the other NFL teams with coaching vacancies and make their pitches to the top available candidates instead of waiting up to a month and missing out on a surefire option.
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"I believe we need to improve across the board," Adams Strunk said. "It's important to find someone that brings in a lot of diverse ideas and fresh perspective. That's the most important thing in a new head coach."
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Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com . Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk outlines plans after Mike Vrabel firing
