Ex-Steelers LB, Potential Assistant Coach Target Joins AFC North Rival: Report

Getty Potential Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach target Mike Vrabel will join Kevin Stefanski with the Cleveland Browns.

Mike Vrabel will not be joining the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff. However, he will be in the AFC North next season.

NFL.com’s Nick Shook wrote that, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, the Cleveland Browns are adding Vrabel as a consultant.

“With a decade of coaching experience and even more gained as a player, Vrabel has plenty of wisdom to lend to Stefanski and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who oversaw a tremendous defensive turnaround in his first season in Cleveland in 2023,” Shook wrote. “We’ll see if the Northeast Ohio native’s inclusion can help the Browns return to the postseason for a second straight season in 2024.”

The Tennessee Titans surprisingly fired Vrabel following the 2023 season. The Titans went 13-21 under Vrabel the past two campaigns, but they won 11 and 12 games during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, respectively.

Following his Tennessee departure, members of Steelers media suggested Vrabel could join Mike Tomlin’s staff in a senior assistant position.

In six seasons as head coach of the Titans, Vrabel led Tennessee to a 54-45 record. During his second season, he led the Titans to an AFC championship game appearance.

Mike Vrabel Previously Linked to Steelers

With his success in Tennessee, the media didn’t consider Vrabel a coach who could potentially return to a coordinator role this offseason. So when all the head coach vacancies were filled, it appeared Vrabel might take the year off.

His other option was some type of senior assistant position. That’s essentially what he’ll be in Cleveland.

On February 2, All Steelers Talk’s Noah Strackbein and Stephen Thompson urged the Steelers to hire Vrabel.

“If you can get Mike Vrabel, you go get Mike Vrabel; it’s really not a question of ability or anything,” Thompson said on the All Steelers Talk’s February 2 episode. “It’s a guy that I’m not even sure that you really have to seriously interview, it’s more about, ‘Hey do you want to come here?’

“I think you almost write him a blank check and say, ‘Yeah, we’d love to have you here.’”

It’s not clear if the Steelers expressed any interest in Vrabel. It’s also not apparent Vrabel expressed any desire to return to the organization that drafted him.

The Steelers drafted Vrabel in the third round of the 1997 NFL draft. He never started a game during four seasons in Pittsburgh. In 51 contests, he posted 56 combined tackles, including 12 tackles for loss and 7 sacks.

Then after reaching free agency, Vrabel went on to start 140 games for the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. He won three Super Bowls with the Patriots and made first-team All-Pro during the 2007 season.

Could the Steelers Hire a Different Former NFL Head Coach?

Under Mike Tomlin, the Steelers have valued extra head coaching experience with assistants such as Dick LeBeau, Todd Haley, and Mike Munchak. The Steelers valued that experience again this offseason, hiring former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator.

Two years ago, the Steelers hired ex-Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores despite not having a coordinator opening. Pittsburgh named Flores a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach.

That led Thompson, Strackbein and others to propose Vrabel as a fit in Pittsburgh this offseason. Instead, he will go to Cleveland.

But Steelers Now’s Alan Saunders pointed out on March 16 that there are other former NFL head coaches available if the Steelers are interested in adding more experience to their coaching staff.

“If the Steelers want to bring in another former NFL head coach as an analyst or consultant, there are still a couple out there, including Belichick (that’s an amusing thought), Frank Reich, Josh McDaniels and Ron Rivera,” wrote Saunders.

Belichick, Reich, McDaniels and Rivera were all head coaches during the 2023 season. Reich and McDaniels were both fired during the 2023 campaign.