Tennessee Titans hire Mike Vrabel as head coach

The Tennessee Titans landed a new head coach Saturday when Mike Vrabel accepted the position.

The 42-year-old Vrabel, who was defensive coordinator for the Houston Texans last season, will be a head coach for the first time.

Vrabel replaces Mike Mularkey, who guided the Titans to the playoffs and won a playoff game before getting fired.

Vrabel, a former NFL linebacker, also has deep familiarity with general manager Jon Robinson from their time together with the New England Patriots when Vrabel was a player and Robinson was a rising executive.

“I have always had a great deal of respect for Mike as a player and as a coach,” Robinson said in a statement. “I saw him up close as a player for the Patriots and saw how he prepared himself to be successful on a daily basis. He was the ultimate team-first player, and he embodies that same mindset as a coach.

“He is intelligent, energetic, detailed and a leader whose deep passion for this game will resonate with our players. As a coach, I have seen him develop talent at both the college and NFL level, and put players in position for them to be successful. I am excited to get him in front of our team and watch us grow together as a team.”

Vrabel became the frontrunner for the position after interviewing on Thursday. He impressed both Robinson and controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk.

“This is an incredible opportunity and one I have been preparing for my entire football life,” Vrabel said in a statement. “I want to thank Amy, Jon and the entire Titans organization for putting their faith in me. I am excited to get to work and that work starts now. We want to build a culture around winning, competitiveness and toughness.

“Everything we do is going to be geared towards winning and being physical. We want to prepare our players so they know what to do, which will allow them to play fast and aggressive.”

Vrabel spent 14 seasons as a player with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs and New England, winning three Super Bowls with the Patriots. He recorded 57 sacks, 20 forced fumbles and 11 interceptions. He also had 10 touchdown receptions on offense.

Vrabel played in 20 postseason games, experience the Titans are betting will help as the team builds off this season’s success.

“I am excited to have Mike Vrabel joining our organization as our new head coach,” Adams Strunk said in a statement. “In the interaction between Mike and Jon during the interview, you could see their connection right away from the history they have with one another — seeing the game in a similar way and talking the same language.

“Mike has a commanding presence and a deep understanding for how he will attack this head coaching opportunity. Throughout his football career, he has played for, been mentored by and coached with successful teams and organizations. He knows what it takes to reach that level of sustained success — he has seen it first-hand. We have a chance to build on the solid foundation that we established over the past couple of years and I believe Mike is the right person to continue that progress.”

Vrabel spent three seasons as Texans linebackers coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator.

The Titans also interviewed Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator/assistant head coach Steve Wilks on Thursday and Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur on Friday.

Mularkey was fired in a surprise move Monday after Adams Strunk and Robinson couldn’t come to an agreement with the coach over his future. The news came just 36 hours after the Titans were routed by the New England Patriots 35-14 in a divisional playoff game.

Vrabel is the team’s fourth coach since firing Jeff Fisher in January 2011 after he spent 16 years with the franchise.