"That is not his job" - Titans HC Mike Vrabel defends Ryan Tannehill's stance on Malik Willis
Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel shared his thoughts on quarterback Ryan Tannehill's comments. The Tennessee head coach said Tannehill's job is to be prepared and help the team win football. Vrabel went on to say he knows Tannehill is capable of doing just that:
“His job is to prepare to help us win a bunch of games and be a great teammate and help out. And I know that he’s going to do that. So that was not any sort of issue for me.”
Mike Vrabel says it's not Ryan Tannehill's job to mentor Malik Willis. It's his job to prepare to help the #Titans win games. Vrabel said he had no problem with Tannehill's comments and felt he handled it well.
Vrabel went on to say that he felt Tannehill handled the situation well as he felt the quarterback was genuine and authentic:
"I thought Ryan handled that very well. I thought he was genuine. I thought he is authentic. And I know Ryan is a great teammate. Everybody here knows he’s a great teammate. And that is not his job.”
Tannehill had some criticism thrown his way when he said it was not his job to be a mentor to Willis:
"We're competing against each other. We're watching the same tape. We're doing the same drills. I don't think it's my job to mentor him, but if he learns from me along the way, then that's a great thing."
Willis disclosed that he sat down with Tannehill to have a conversation about the situation. He told the media that he and Tannehill chopped it up, and those comments were nothing negative:
"Oh, man, we chopped it up. I mean, it was never anything negative. Ryan’s a good dude. Like I said, he had us over to the house. Everything’s cool."
Malik Willis was asked about Ryan Tannehill’s mentor comment: “What comment?” 😂
Willis went on to say that Tannehill invited all the offensive rookies to his house and the comment was nothing negative. “Ryan is a good dude.”
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The Liberty quarterback was drafted in the third round of this year’s NFL Draft. While at Liberty last season, Willis threw for 2,857 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He also had 13 touchdowns on the ground last season.
Titans QB situation moving forward
Entering the 2022 season, the quarterback will be Tannehill for the Titans, which has been the case since 2020. Last season, the 33-year-old signal-caller had 3,734 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, and four interceptions.
He led Tennessee to a 12 – 5 record in the regular season in 2021, losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in the Divisional Round.
Willis was drafted as the likely future franchise quarterback, but Tannehill looks to be the guy under center for now. We’ll see how the season plays out for the Titans.