Patriots' Mike Vrabel downplayed his return to Tennessee, while the Titans fired his replacement Monday
The New England Patriots have made it a point to celebrate homecomings (or in Stefon Diggs' case, a "revenge" game) for players so far this season. On Sunday, it will be head coach Mike Vrabel's turn to take a trip down memory lane.
But in true Vrabel fashion, the head coach is downplaying his Week 7 return to Tennessee when his 4-2 Patriots will take on his former team, the currently 1-5 Titans.
"There is going to be, probably, a lot to be said about this. I think it would file under the category of, is it interesting or important? I would probably say this would be very interesting. But in the end, not very important to our preparation or what we need to continue to try to do to improve as a team," Vrabel told reporters Monday in Foxboro.
"But having spent six years there, I think it will be nice to see some people I haven't seen in a few years that helped us win; players and staff. But we have a huge job to do here to prepare for them," added Vrabel.
While Vrabel is enjoying some early success with the Patriots, the Titans have already moved on from his replacement. The Titans have fired Brian Callahan, the team announced Monday, after he led the team to a 4-19 record in his season-plus on the sideline.
Vrabel said return to Tennessee will "feel different"
Sunday's game will be Vrabel's first against the Titans since the team fired him following the 2023 season. Vrabel acknowledged Monday the game will bring a new set of emotions with it, but those cannot affect how the team prepares for the matchup.
"It's going to feel different, but it can't be different," Vrabel said earlier Monday on WEEI's The Greg Hill Show. "The way we prepare, the way we put together a game plan. But I think -- we've have to recognize the obvious, having spent time there, so there are a lot of people on the other side I know, that I coached, or I worked with."
Vrabel went 54-45 over his six seasons as head coach of the Titans, which included a trip to the AFC Championship Game in 2019. During that postseason run, Vrabel's Titans upset the Tom Brady, Bill Belichick-led Patriots at Gillette Stadium in the AFC Wild Card round.
The Titans made the playoffs two more times under Vrabel, but didn't win a postseason game the rest of his tenure. He was fired after a 6-11 campaign in 2023, which was his second straight losing season in Tennessee.
Vrabel was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame during Tennessee's bye week in 2023, and had plenty of great things to say about New England and the Patriots organization during his speech. It was reported that Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk questioned Vrabel's commitment to Tennessee after that weekend, which reportedly played a part in his firing.
Vrabel was asked if his Patriots Hall of Fame induction was really an issue with Titans ownership.
"I donno, you'd have to ask the owner. I know losing irked the owner and it irked me," he said. "We didn't win enough games in Tennessee."
Patriots players on Vrabel's return to Tennessee
Vrabel's players in New England won't be surprised to hear their coach downplaying the personal meaning to Sunday's game.
"He's a selfless guy so he doesn't want it to be about him," right tackle Morgan Moses told WBZ-TV's Dan Roche in the locker room Sunday in New Orleans. "We're going to take it one day at a time in the building, get better and iron out the details, and then go play football."
"I'll bet he's excited. But he's not going to approach it any differently than he does every week," receiver Stefon Diggs said after Sunday's win over the Saints.
Diggs had his best game in a Patriots uniform in Week 5, when he snagged 10 receptions for 146 yards in the team's upset win over the Buffalo Bills. It was Diggs' first game in Buffalo since the team traded him ahead of the 2024 season.
Vrabel won't be alone in his return to his old stomping grounds this weekend. Linebackers Harold Landry, Robert Spillane, and Jack Gibbens all played on Vrabel's defense in Tennessee, and will likely have a little more juice for Sunday's matchup.