Titans players address Mike Vrabel's return ahead of Patriots game

Much attention has been drawn to how New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and his players would handle the emotional aspect of Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans (1-5). 

Vrabel served as Tennessee's head coach for six seasons until he was unceremoniously fired in January 2024. While he and his players have insisted they're working to "ignore some of the noise" related to the Week 7 contest, the fact that Vrabel previously coached some current Titans players has generated headlines. 

Among those players is veteran defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, who wants to give Vrabel a rude return to Tennessee this weekend. 

Titans ready for a "fight" against Mike Vrabel-led Patriots

"I know our relationship off the field, but I couldn't care less about the relationship when it comes down to Sunday," Simmons recently said about Vrabel, as ESPN's Turron Davenport and Mike Reiss shared on Friday. "They're going to fight for him, maybe try to help him try to do a little extra and get a win for him. Our mindset is not to let that happen. So we have to fight."

Vrabel went 54-45, guided Tennessee to the 2019 AFC Championship Game and won the Associated Press Coach of the Year Award in 2021 during his tenure. He later endured back-to-back losing campaigns before Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk made the controversial decision to axe him. 

What Mike Vrabel meant to Titans players

"We had a really good relationship," Titans running back Tyjae Spears said about his one season playing under Vrabel. "He always said encouraging things to me and always checked on me. He always tried to keep us in the right mental space."

The 4-2 Patriots will look to remain atop the AFC East standings by earning a win at Tennessee's Nissan Stadium. Meanwhile, the 1-5 Titans fired head coach Brian Callahan on Monday and will turn a figurative page when they host New England. 

"It's exciting," safety Amani Hooker said about knowing Vrabel is game-planning to face the Titans. "He always talked about putting good s--- on film because you never know who around the league is watching. This week he's watching my film, my tape, so hopefully he can say that's a guy we have to look out for."

As of Friday morning, ESPN BET had the Titans as 6.5-point home underdogs against the Patriots.