Mike Vrabel returns to Ohio as Browns coaching consultant

The Cleveland Browns added a big name to their staff on Friday. According to Adam Schefter, they agreed to hire former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel as a coaching and personnel consultant.

Vrabel, who spent the past six seasons as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans, is an Akron native and played collegiately at Ohio State. When he was let go by the Titans, there were calls for him to return to OSU but he still gets to come home thanks to the Browns.

Vrabel was fired after two losing seasons in a row but he had four winning campaigns to start his career. His best record was in 2021 when he led the Titans to a 12-5 mark and the No. 1 seed in the AFC. He also led them to the AFC Championship Game following the 2019 campaign, although they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Mike Vrabel has connection to the Browns coaching staff

This addition makes sense beyond the fact that Vrabel is a well-respected defensive coach. The former Houston Texans defensive coordinator also has ties to the Cleveland defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz.

Before being hired by the Browns, Schwartz was a senior defensive assistant in Tennessee. He worked under Vrabel for two seasons and now the two are once again going to be working together.

In his first season with Cleveland, Schwartz helped turn the defense around. The team's weakness in 2022 became its strength in 2023 and they won 11 games despite starting five different quarterbacks. This led to Schwartz winning the NFL Assistant Coach of the Year award and now he has another strong defensive mind to help him push the defense even more in 2024.

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