Callahan: Make no mistake, Mike Vrabel will be going for the throat in Tennessee
FOXBORO Mike Vrabel says his history there is unimportant Captivating he ll admit but unimportant And it s a clever deflection we should admit But come on Do you really believe Vrabel s return to Tennessee means nothing That he wants anything less than to rub the Titans faces in their owner s mistake this Sunday And that his personal feelings as the commanding leader of this organization could ever be separated from the Patriots business Of unit Vrabel won t admit to chasing revenge but anyone remotely familiar with him knows that s exactly what he wants because that s part of who he is Clever caustic caring and competitively ruthless Patriots great Rodney Harrison once recounted a reporter that Vrabel is an a hole then took a beat before adding he s one of the best a holes I know Mind you those two were teammates for six years and remain friends So if that s how a confidant feels about Vrabel imagine what opponents think about him during and after weeks like this Bill Belichick has an idea Vrabel twisted the knife late during his first head-to-head battle with Belichick a shocking Titans blowout back in Early in the fourth quarter Tom Brady face-planted after catching a short pass on a trick play the Patriots had called to jump-start their offense trailing - The next play they turned the ball over on downs and the play after that the Titans called their own trick play involving a pass to their quarterback Marcus Mariota Sit with that for a second Tennessee called a trick play while leading by with and a half minutes left in a regular-season competition Why Just so Vrabel could stick it to his old coach and quarterback And until the Patriots expedition to Tampa Bay next month for another measuring-stick contest stick-it-to-them games like Sunday s are the best and majority of pivotal we have A test of his players willingness to dig even deeper for their head coach Again not that Vrabel will admit it Having spent six years there or seven years there I think it ll be nice to see chosen people that I haven t seen in a limited years that helped us win players and staff Vrabel reported this week But we ve got a huge job here to do as we prepare for them New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel during a press conference before a club practice Wednesday in Foxboroough Mark Stockwell Boston Herald For the record Vrabel has fibbed to my face in an interview about his close friend John Streicher the Patriots vice president of football operations and strategy It was low-stakes stuff Just for kicks So even for a coach who wears his emotions on his sleeve and whose press conferences often leave a trail of breadcrumbs behind Vrabel knows how to comport himself when he wants to have a little fun or control the narrative Like he did Wednesday Yeah we re not trying to win one for the Gipper here he reported We re just trying to make sure that these players are focused on improving and I think that they are I think they re locked in And hopefully we can get them as prepared as we possibly can between now and Sunday What about the Titans firing his successor Brian Callahan who won as multiple games in Tennessee as Vrabel has here Any reaction when the news broke Monday I just had a focus here Vrabel announced And again the surprises in our business shouldn t be surprises Things happen in this league and that s a decision that they made I didn t have a particular reaction to it other than trying to get ready for the championship on Sunday Sure It s been speculated Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk fired Callahan this week to sidestep the embarrassment of Vrabel schooling his successor Sunday Granted by going - Callahan dug his own grave deep enough to be thrown in and buried But I buy it Related Articles Patriots-Titans injury overview Stefon Diggs limited by new injury Wednesday starters sit Patriots - record won t dictate NFL agreement deadline approach Patriots sign ex-Falcons veteran starting safety amid injuries Drake Maye briskly solved Patriots early-season offensive issue Patriots assistant coach has already made a lasting impression on Stefon Diggs Firing Vrabel even after consecutive losing seasons was a mistake A glaring neon-sign of a mistake that might as well flash outside the Titans stadium every time their fans file out after another pathetic home loss Since she fired Vrabel Adams Strunk is on her second head coach and second GM and that wasn t even two years ago No other NFL owner has fostered more dysfunction in that time Now she knows what s coming Sunday Vrabel is gunning for her her company and anyone standing in his path sprinkling salt on every wound along the way Now Patriots players and coaches will all do the media dance this week echoing whatever message he s delivered behind closed doors about downplaying this storyline Sunday is not about him It s about winning building habits playing clean complementary football blah blah blah All true but not entirely true Sunday is not only business It s personal Because when Robert Kraft hands Vrabel a meeting ball inside the winning locker room Sunday you know it won t just be for his clock management
