Mike Vrabel on Future as Titans HC amid Rumors: 'Of Course I Want to Be Here'

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel made it abundantly clear on Wednesday that he wants to remain with the organization going forward despite the team's difficult 5-11 season.

"Of course I want to be here. Be here as long as we can win. And as long as we can do this thing," he told reporters. "It's been great. But it also has been frustrating this year, nobody wants to be where we're at. You feel for the players who haven't been in that situation, those guys are out there selling out, and you feel for them when you look out there on the field."

There continues to be smoke around the possibility of Vrabel departing this offseason, however. On Wednesday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano reported that folks around the NFL are "starting to wonder" whether Vrabel might seek to be traded to a new team, adding it's unlikely the Titans will fire him.

Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post, meanwhile, reported that he "keep(s) hearing Vrabel and general manager Ran Carthon are not a match. This looks like a rebuilding team, and Vrabel would have trade value. Rival officials believe the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots would covet Vrabel."

"I know it's not good there between the coach and GM," a general manager told La Canfora. "I think something could happen."

Vrabel downplayed those rumors Wednesday:

"If we believed everything on social media, it would be Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy. I really have never responded to any of those [online rumors] and we're not going to start now. I know where we're at as an organization. I'm excited to build this thing and fix this thing and get it to where we want it to be, to win championships with Ran and [Chad Brinker, assistant general manager, strategy] and [Anthony Robinson, assistant general manager, personnel] and the coaching staff, and everybody."

Vrabel, 48, is 53-45 as the team's head coach (2018-23), leading the team to three playoff berths. Tennessee didn't have a losing season in his first four years on the job, though the team went just 7-10 last year and is guaranteed to be even worse this season.

Some of that comes down to a rebuilding roster and the transition to rookie quarterback Will Levis, who has shown promise and has arguably been the one bright spot for the team this year. If Vrabel doesn't have the stomach for a rebuild or simply doesn't have a good working relationship with Carthon, however, it wouldn't be shocking if he found his way to another franchise this offseason.