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Former HC Mike Vrabel has not been linked to the Miami Dolphins, why not?

Mike Vrabel was tough as a player and was tough as a coach. He might be just what the doctor ordered for a soft Miami Dolphins defense that fell apart in December

By Scott Alan Salomon

The Miami Dolphins and Mike McDaniel should be on the phone with Mike Vrabel and interview him for the still-vacant Defensive Coordinator position. Vrabel has head coaching experience and is known as a defensive coach. He has all the makings of a quality DC, but the Dolphins would need a commitment that he won't leave for a head coaching gig after next season.
The Miami Dolphins and Mike McDaniel should be on the phone with Mike Vrabel and interview him for the still-vacant Defensive Coordinator position. Vrabel has head coaching experience and is known as a defensive coach. He has all the makings of a quality DC, but the Dolphins would need a commitment that he won't leave for a head coaching gig after next season. / Wesley Hitt/GettyImages
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Mike Vrabel will not land a head coaching job in 2024 but why is he not on the Miami Dolphins' radar?

It is now obvious that Vrabel will be locked out of a head coaching job this cycle and building a staunch, tough defense in Miami could improve his resume which was lacking success when he was a head coach in Tennessee.

All the boxes have been filled in an Mike Vrabel's name was not on the list. For the first time in six seasons, Vrabel will not be a head coach. To make matters worse, he is on the outside looking in as he does not have a ride for the 2024 season and is currently without a job.

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel should offer him one. He should be the next defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins.

Vrabel played the game and has been known as a players' coach. He is the antithesis to what Vic Fangio was and players love playing for him. He could come in immediately and bring a new intensity to the Dolphins' defense that Fangio never could. He could relate to today's players as he is not that far removed from his own playing days.

The 2021 NFL Coach of the Year also happens to be a three-time Super Bowl Champion from when he played for Bill Belichick in New England. He knows how to win and he knows how to coach. He took lessons from Belichick and parlayed it into six seasons in Tennessee.

Vrabel has a reputation for being tough and for developing tough players. His teams in Tennessee always played with great physicality and were hard-nosed football players. The 2023 Dolphins' defense was soft and gave up too many big plays.

It should also be remembered that the Titans beat the Dolphins on Monday Night Football this season at Hard Rock Stadium when he went for a two-point conversion after a touchdown when the metrics said to kick the extra point. Tennessee would go on to win the game by one point and cost the Dolphins the AFC East Championship.

In six seasons, Vrabel's Titans teams made the playoffs three consecutive years, including an AFC Championship Game loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City. That season the Titans had the number one seed with a quarterback named Ryan Tannehill.

Vrabel would not be coming into an ideal situation as the Dolphins are well over the salary cap and have a de minimus amount of players under contract on the defensive side of the football. Vrabel would bring instant credibility to the defense and attract big-name free agents to Miami once the salary cap problems are resolved with the restructuring of certain contracts.

The only downside to the hiring of Vrabel would be that if he was successful in rebuilding the Dolphins' defense, he would be highly sought after in the 2025 head coaching cycle. The Dolphins would need a commitment that he would not be a one-year stopgap that would envision Miami and McDaniel going through this same process after next season.

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