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Ryan Day's position as Ohio State football coach would appear to be in question, especially if the Buckeyes fall short Saturday vs. Tennessee, and if Day is ousted, a former OSU player may be returning to Columbus to replace him: ex-Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.
After a fourth consecutive loss to archrival Michigan late last month, Day's hot seat, if you were to ask fans, has become scorching. But Ohio State, if it were to fire Day, might have some stiff competition if Vrabel is its desired replacement.
“Mike Vrabel's name is buzzy ahead of the coaching carousel,” ESPN's Dan Graziano wrote. “Some believe the former Titans coach would be a candidate in Dallas if the Cowboys move on from Mike McCarthy. (Jerry Jones continues to say nice things about McCarthy, but he has yet to extend his contract, which expires after this season.) Others believe he'd be a candidate in Las Vegas if the Raiders move on from Antonio Pierce after only one season. New Raiders minority owner Tom Brady is believed to be heavily involved in the decision-making on the coach, and he and Vrabel are of course former teammates. And then there are the rumblings that Vrabel could be a top candidate to take over the job at his alma mater, Ohio State, should the Buckeyes decide to move on from Ryan Day (which could depend on how far Ohio State advances in the playoff). Could Vrabel follow Bill Belichick and his former boss Bill O'Brien from NFL coaching into the college ranks? Regardless, expect to keep hearing his name over the coming weeks. He's a proven head coach, and those are in short supply as teams look for their solutions at that key position.”
Potential Ohio State football coaching candidate Mike Vrabel's career to date
An Ohio State alumnus, Vrabel has spent most of the last 27 years in the NFL, either as a player or a coach. Vrabel played for more than a decade in the league, spending time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, and Kansas City Chiefs. Following his playing career, he began coaching by returning to Ohio State in 2011 as the team's linebackers coach under then-interim coach Luke Fickell following Jim Tressel's resignation. After one season as the linebackers coach, he tutored the OSU defensive linemen for two seasons before jumping to the NFL.
From 2014 to 2016, Vrabel was the Texans' linebackers coach. He earned a promotion to defensive coordinator before the 2017 season, his final with Houston.
In 2018, he became a first-time head coach with the Titans, who had won nine games each of two previous seasons under Mike Mularkey. Vrabel continued the trend, leading Tennessee to nine wins in his first two seasons as head coach. In Vrabel's second season, the Titans made the playoffs and upset the Patriots and Baltimore Ravens before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship.
Vrabel and the Titans would return to the postseason each of the next two seasons, but they failed to win a game, losing to the Ravens in the 2020 Wild Card and Cincinnati Bengals in the 2021 Divisional round. The Titans sank to 7-10 and 6-11 in Vrabel's final two seasons, his only losing seasons as a head coach and the Titans' first consecutive losing seasons since 2014 and 2015. After the season, Vrabel and the organization parted ways. He went 54-45 in his six-year stint.
Vrabel has spent the 2024 NFL season as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns.
