"Andy Reid is the size of a Honda Odyssey" - NFL fans reject report claiming Mike Vrabel's 'size' cost him HC job
NFL fans have slammed reports about Mike Vrabel being too "big" for an NFL head coach job by pointing to Andy Reid, who will be leading his team from the sidelines in the Super Bowl. NFL Insider Dianna Russini reported that one of the alleged reasons that the league franchises did not want to hire the former Titan coach came down to his intimidating size.
Mike Vrabel stands at an impressive 6-foot-4 and comes in at a reported 261 lbs, which is perhaps expected from a former NFL player. But that reportedly worked against him despite being a former Coach of the Year in the league.
However, fans were not convinced that people were being entirely truthful when they articulated this as the reason. After all, one can safely say that more than half the league would be happy to have Andy Reid as their head coach if he was available. His stocky build certainly does not seem to be hampering his coaching credentials.
Supporters took to X, formerly Twitter, to point this out. They even compared Vrabel to Dan Campbell, an imposing figure himself, who had no problems leading the Detroit Lions to the NFC Championship this year. Here is a collection of some of the responses on X:
Mike Vrabel's career coaching path going differently to Andy Reid is probably due to a different reason
A more plausible explanation for why Mike Vrabel remains jobless as Andy Reid appears in yet another Super Bowl comes from a look at his coaching achievements. While his initial time with the Tennessee Titans was indeed impressive, he struggled to replicate that form of late. Notably, Vrabel lost 18 of his last 24 games as the head coach.
There are mitigating factors such as Ryan Tannehill not being a reliable quarterback and Will Levis being a rookie. The sale of A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles and not being able to compensate for his absence is another valid excuse.
But someone like Andy Reid showed his worth well before he got Patrick Mahomes as his starting quarterback. He had previously visited the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles as their head coach. And despite losing Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, he has fashioned an offense that can win with other parts despite not fully replacing the speedy wide receiver.
Ultimately, those are the key differences that NFL general managers would have noted when choosing to pass over Mike Vrabel in this cycle. However, it is eminently possible that he may not remain unemployed for long.