Nothing surprises Mike Vrabel about the NFL these days.
The former Titans head coach has been around this league for a long time – this is his 25th training camps as he pointed out in a conversation with the media on Tuesday. So despite the fact that he was disappointed that his run with Tennessee came to an end this offseason he's grateful that a new opportunity emerged with his hometown team, the Browns.
Cleveland hired Vrabel to be a consultant for the franchise back in March, after a couple head coaching interviews didn't go in his favor. It may not be the role he wanted initially, but it's a role he's thoroughly enjoying now that he's immersed in it.
"This is the opportunity that I think is best for me right now," said Vrabel on Tuesday. "to be able to go through draft meetings, personnel meetings with Andrew [Berry] and his staff and see how that was navigated and how they may do things. There's 32 flavors in this league and everyone does it a little differently. It's been fun to be a part of this and try to help where I can and most especially learn."
An Akron, Ohio native, Vrabel can recall the days growing up as Browns fan, attending games and eating dog bone necklaces. He's no stranger to Northeast Ohio's passion for football, even if his playing and coaching career took him to a number of different stops away from home.
The Ohio State alumnus now has a unique opportunity in front of him to see the organization he once cheered for from a different perspective. Through conversations with head coach Kevin Stefanski, Vrabel's role as a consultant is pretty fluid, although right now he's spending a lot of time with the tight ends. As he explained, the majority of his work will come throughout the week of practice, although it is subject to change.
"There won't be a role on game day," Vrabel stated. "That's something that we had talked about prior to doing this, which is the right fit for everybody. I'm gonna try to do anything that they ask me to do and be available to help throughout the week and then move ahead to the next opponent. That will all kind of happen organically, but that's where I see it just based on the conversations that I've had with Kevin."
Out on the practice field is where Vrabel will make his presence felt the most this season. That's been the common theme at camp already where he's been hard to miss . If he's not racing Jameis Winston to the other side of the field in between offensive reps, he's bringing giving the offensive a look and teaching blocking techniques to David Njoku .
It's pretty evident he's just enjoying getting back to the basics of coaching football without the pressures that come with the title "head coach." He'll leave that to Stefanski, who is grateful to have an additional resource on staff this year.
"We have Vrabes really focusing with the offense," Stefanski explained. "We’re having him do a bunch of different things, but helps me a ton in all the head coaching areas. I can bounce things off of him. [He] helps our personnel group because he’s got a very good eye for personnel. And then I just think it’s valuable to have a former defensive player, former defensive coach in the offensive meeting."
It's very likely that Vrabel won't be with the Browns for very long. After his "sabbatical" as a consultant this season he's likely to be near the top of a shortlist of potential head coaching candidates next offseason. For now though, Vrabel is focused on where his feet are.
"There's a time and place for that, it's not gonna be anytime soon," Vrabel said. "So I think the things that I'll ultimately learn here may help me the next time that I get an opportunity to have one of those interviews. This is where I'm focused on, focused on doing that and learning here and helping and then if those opportunities present themselves after the season then I'll absolutely try to do that."
