JEVON KEARSE HALL OF FAME

TITANS HC MIKE VRABEL NAMED AP 2021 NFL COACH OF THE YEAR

BY JIM WYATT

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was named 2021 NFL Coach of the Year by the Associated Press. Vrabel was recognized at the NFL Honors in Los Angeles just three days before Super Bowl LVI. “It is an honor and a privilege to play and coach in this league,” Vrabel said. “And having coached in the Pro Bowl (last week), I know our game is in good hands. My job and every coach’s job is to teach, develop and to make a connection, and to make an impact. “I want to thank our owner, Amy Adams Strunk, and I want to thank my family. I want to thank my wife Jen, I want to thank my sons Tyler and Carter. I want to thank my best friend – I want to thank (John Streicher) ‘Stretch’ (the team’s Coordinator of Football Development). This is a reflection of our 91 players that helped us win 12 games, and our coaching staff. Thank you, and this is a pleasure.”

Last January, Vrabel was also named 2021 Coach of the Year by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA). Vrabel guided the Titans to a record of 12-5 during the regular season. Vrabel’s Titans captured the AFC’s No.1 seed for the first time since the 2008 season. The 12 wins in the regular season were the most for the franchise since 2008, when the Titans finished 13-3. During a zoom interview after the presentation, Vrabel discussed the strong culture in Tennessee while working alongside General Manager Jon Robinson. The Titans announced earlier they’d agreed to a contract extensions with Vrabel, who was hired before the 2018 season, and Robinson, the team’s GM since 2016. “I think it is about the people that we bring in, and it is also about our leaders,” Vrabel said. “Everybody talks about culture, and the thing that I tell our football team is we are going to define our culture by what we look like when we are at our worst. Because it is easy to say everybody has a great culture when you are winning. But when you go through struggles and maybe you lose a couple of games in a row, that is maybe when I take a peek and see what our culture looks like. I am excited about it because we have had adversity and we’ve been able to persevere through that.” Vrabel said Amy Adams Strunk “demands the best of Jon and myself, but she let’s us do our jobs.” “If there’s things that she wants, she will tell us, and obviously we do it,” Vrabel said. “But she allows Jon and I to do our jobs, she trusts us to work through things, to have conversations about personnel, and about the direction of the team. … She’s given us the resources to continue to build meeting rooms and classrooms (at the facility) to help team our players. I can’t say enough about her and her family.” Vrabel’s Titans won the AFC South for the second straight season in 2021, and the organization made its third consecutive postseason appearance in his four seasons as head coach. The Titans used 91 players during the 2021 season, an NFL record for a non-strike season. Vrabel’s overall record since taking over as coach of the Titans is 44-27, including regular season and playoffs. In 2021, Vrabel tied Jack Pardee for the most total wins by a head coach in his first four seasons with the organization. In Pardee’s first four seasons as head coach from 1990 through 1993, the Oilers were 43-26, including playoffs. Of all Titans/Oilers head coaches with at least four seasons with the franchise, Vrabel’s career winning percentage ranks the highest. On several occasions, Vrabel thanked those around him. He said coaching – and playing – is a commitment from everyone, so everyone shares in success. “That goes for the coaching staff, and their families,” Vrabel said. “And I always tell our players: Go back and look when we lost to the Jets, the number of people that texted you after that game. Because everybody texts you when you win, but nobody texts you when you lose and says, ‘Hey, hang in there. You’ll get them next week.’ But that’s what our families do, and that’s what our kids do. “So, I am always reminding that to our players: Not too many people remember you when you lose, or text you when you lose, and (the families) are in it for the long haul.”

FORMER TITANS DE JEVON KEARSE INDUCTED INTO TENNESSEE SPORTS HALL OF FAME

Former Titans defensive end Jevon Kearse was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame on July 23, 2022 during a banquet at the Omni Hotel in downtown Nashville.

“It’s an awesome honor,” Kearse said with a big smile. “I put my work in here in Tennessee and I feel like I deserve to be here in the Hall of Fame. Why do I deserve that? Because they told me that…

“It’s always an honor to come back here to Tennessee and be involved in any capacity. It’s always a good southern feel.”

Also on Saturday night, former Titans head coach Jeff Fisher and Titans play-by-play man Mike Keith were recognized for their recent inductions as well.

Fisher was a part of the Hall of Fame’s 2020 class, while Keith was inducted to the TSHOF in 2021.

Earlier this year, Kearse was informed in grand fashion he’d be inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. Kearse got the news during the team’s playoff fan rally at 6th and Peabody in Nashville.

“When you think of the 1999 Super Bowl season of the Tennessee Titans, few players stand out more than Jevon Kearse,” said Brad Willis, Executive Director of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. “Jevon’s play was a huge part of a Titans defense that dominated the competition for many years. As a player that started and ended his NFL career in Nashville, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame is proud to present him with this honor.” A first-round pick of the Titans in the 1999 NFL Draft, Kearse finished his rookie season with 14.5 sacks and six forced fumbles en route to being named AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Kearse, named to the Pro Bowl in 1999, 2000, and 2001, played for the Titans from 1999-2003 before signing with the Eagles in free agency. Kearse returned to the Titans in 2008, and he played two more seasons with the team before his retirement.

Kearse recorded 47.5 sacks from 1999-2003 with the Titans, and he added another 4.5 in his return. In his career, Kearse racked up 74 sacks, with 52 of them coming during his days with the Titans.

“Those memories from back then, I will cherish them forever,” Kearse said. “It’s good to be here with my Tennessee fans, and family, sharing these memories.”