Mike Vrabel Makes it Clear He Holds a Very Serious Grudge Against the Titans Owner Who Fired Him

Andy Lyons. Getty Images.

This photo may look familiar, since it's from the Patriots at Tennessee, which was three weeks ago, yesterday.  In that one, the Pats rolled over the Titans, 31-13. And if you think that win didn't Vrabel any kind of extra satisfaction, if it was just another W and not at all personal, you'd better think again. 

There is an old fashioned grudge going on between Vrabel and his former boss:

With fierce level of resentment that no Thanksgiving dinner or signed agreement to squash the beef:

… could ever resolve. At least that's the conclusion I'm reaching based on Vrabel's contractually-obligated appearance on sports radio today:

So it's war, then.

For the record, Amy Adams Strunk fired Vrabel on January 9th of 2024. So 11 weeks after he referred to the New England Patriots using the first person plural pronoun and praised the ownership of the Krafts as he was being inducted into the team Hall of Fame. For that unpardonable crime, Adams Strunk fired the coach who had taken her team to the AFC championship game, won 11 games and then 12 games, and was Coach of the Year in 2021.

That was 671 days ago. And since then? He's only been getting the silent treatment. Including when he was in Nashville for the game in Week 7. Not that he seems too put out about not talking to her. But still.

Which can only make the current situation he finds himself in all the more gratifying. He's doubled his own team's win total from last season in just 10 weeks. Meanwhile, Amy's has the worst record in football since she fired him. She's had twice as many head coaches this year (two) as she has wins (one). Her team has currently given up the third most points in the league and scored the fewest, giving them a point differential of -127, the worst in the NFL by 32. Meanwhile Vrabel's is +73, which is good for sixth best.

There's a quote that is most often attributed to a Broadway producer David Merrick, though the sources aren't clear on who said it first. But since he was known as The Abominable Showman for being such an incorrigible prick, we'll give him the possession arrow here. The quote is some variation on this.  

"It is not sufficient that I succeed. Others must also fail." 

That's the key to true happiness. And in this case, the billionaire who fired him over some petty hurt feelings has spent the almost two years since failing better than anyone, while he's done nothing but succeed.  That's got to be the best feeling of all.