Dianna Russini, an NFL insider for The Athletic, recently shared details of a phone call in which former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel expressed frustration with reports that his physical presence had been a factor in his inability to secure a new job during the 2024 NFL coaching hiring cycle.
During an appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast, ESPN reporter Dianna Russini claimed that Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was upset after reading an aggregated report that suggested he was too overweight to work as an NFL coach.
However, it's important to note that the original report did not explicitly call Vrabel fat. Rather, an unnamed NFL general manager allegedly told Russini that Vrabel's imposing 6'4" frame could intimidate some teams.
“He called me the day after an aggregator took something I said that basically said Mike Vrabel is too fat to work,” Russini said on Pardon My Take. “What I shared was that I had dinner with a GM at the Senior Bowl [and we had conversations about how bizarre this last coaching cycle was and how crazy it was that [former New England Patriots coach Bill] Belichick and Vrabel didn’t have gigs.
And I said, ‘Why do you think that Mike didn’t get a job?’ He said, ‘I think they needed a change there in Tennessee, but in terms of the next opportunity, I think there’s a lot of people who are very intimidated by him. He walks into a room, and he’s confident, and he’s physically a big human being, and it’s a little startling at first.’ Very normal, right? When I say this to you? … His hands are the size of your head.”
Russini felt her report was misconstrued and didn't enjoy the unpleasant conversation with an upset Vrabel.
“So when the aggregators took that and changed all this, you know, the way I said it, so that wasn’t great to hear from a not-too-happy head coach, to begin with — well, former head coach now,” Russini said. “He didn’t call me after the piece we did on why he got fired. But the piece calling him a little fat, he wasn’t too happy.”
During his career in the NFL, Vrabel played for 14 seasons and had a height of 6'4" and a weight of 261 pounds, according to Pro Football Reference. He served as the coach of the Titans for six seasons before being fired in January after three playoff appearances and two consecutive losing seasons.
Many observers thought he'd get one of the seven coaching jobs besides the Titans, but he was shut out. During Super Bowl week, Russini floated a theory as to why.
"I had a GM at the Senior Bowl who mentioned to me Vrabel's physical build," Russini said on The Athletic Football Show. "That he's a very large human being. And can be very intimidating to people in an organization that are going to be part of these decisions. And that is a factor."
During the offseason, Vrabel interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, and Los Angeles Chargers.
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