In the 2017/2018 Playoffs, the Titans faced the Chiefs in the Wild Card Round. With Marcus Mariota and DeMarco Murray leading a comeback, they would go on to defeat the Chiefs before falling to the Patriots in the Divisional Round.
Despite this good season, the next season was riddled with injuries. Most notably, unavailability of Marcus Mariota in week 18 knocked the Titans out of playoff contention.
After the season, the organization would agree to part ways with Head Coach Mike Mularkey, They hired Mike Vrabel, who was the Texans Defensive Coordinator at the time. Vrabel decided to move forward with Mariota as the starter despite struggles, although the team did make a trade with the Miami Dolphins to acquire Ryan Tannehill as a backup.
In week 6 of the 2019 season, Marcus Mariota was officially benched after throwing 2 interceptions in a game where the offense would fail to score a point. For the rest of the season, Tannehill led the team to the playoffs as the #6 seed, winning comeback player of the year. They defeated the Patriots in the Wild Card, effectively ending the Tom Brady era in New England, as well as the Marcus Mariota era in Tennessee. In the divisional against the 14-2 (#1 seed) Ravens led by MVP Lamar Jackson, they would go on to defeat Baltimore and advance to the AFC championship against the Chiefs, who they had beaten the year before.
Although they lost, Tannehill, Henry, and Vrabel proved that they could be the answer and push the Titans into contention.
Their next season proved to be a forgettable one, going down against essentially the same Ravens team they had beaten the year before, losing in the Wild Card Round.
The next year, Derrick Henry went down with an injury in the middle of the year, putting him out for the rest of the season. This was one of many injuries that tampered people's expectations for Tennessee, but Vrabel was able to keep the team focused on their goal, the #1 seed. With D'Onta Foreman and Dontrell Hilliard serving as the teams main running backs, the Tennessee Titans secured the first seed and a first round bye.
Once again, the Titans failed to take advantage of their opportunity against the Bengals in the divisional round, and a rough performance from Tannehill left fans wondering if he was still the answer.
In 2022/23, the Titans started off strong, once again looking like they would take the division despite minor injuries. Later on, however, those minor injuries would turn into bigger injuries, especially to Ryan Tannehill. They were forced to start a raw prospect in rookie Malik Willis, who looked shaky and failed to throw over 100 yards in any of his starts. Due to a late season losing streak thanks to a season-ending ankle injury to Tannehill, the Titans were in a win-and-in situation against the Jaguars in Week 18. They were starting Josh Dobbs, who had been with the organization for less than two weeks.
Despite Dobbs' best efforts, the Jaguars defeated the Titans and proceeded to face the Chargers in the Wild Card Round. They were headed into an offseason where they would hire a new GM, and appeared to be headed toward a long rebuild. In the second round, they picked QB Will Levis out of Kentucky, who would take over as a starter after another Tannehill injury in the next season. He showed outstanding flashes, and appeared to win over the players as the future of the franchise.
Although Levis looked outstanding, there were doubts about whether Vrabel was willing to go through a full rebuild. They finished off the season 6-11, and hold the #7 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. There were rumors about a possible trade to the Patriots, or a possible rift with new GM Ran Carthon. In the week leading up to the Wild Card games, Vrabel was let go, spelling the end to a tenure filled with plenty of ups and downs.
Despite the rough ending, Vrabel was able to dig this team out of the ground when they were at their lowest, and he rallied the team to win, even when there was nothing to play for. As a players coach, he will certainly go down as one of the best in Titans history.
-Eli Knight
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