Patriots are said to be a reason for Mike Vrabel's firing from Titans

With the shocking announcement on Tuesday of Mike Vrabel being let go from the Titans after six seasons, more details are beginning to emerge to explain why the decision was made. Other than the reveal, it was a move made by team owner Amy Adams Strunk on her own, as opposed to including the general manager; the Patriots have found their way into the discussion, as they are a basis for Vrabel's firing.

Because of his induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame this season during the Titans' bye week, his acceptance speech and other comments he made apparently ruffled some feathers back in Tennessee. That remained throughout the rest of the season, which came to a head in recent weeks when rumors started circulating about Vrabel's interest in returning to his former team to succeed Bill Belichick.

NFL insider Ian Rapoport revealed on Wednesday that the HOF induction, coupled with Vrabel's lack of pushback on said rumors, played a significant part in Strunk's decision to unexpectedly part ways with the head coach.

“This was (Titans owner) Amy Adams Strunk making the decision based on a lot of things. Including what happened when he went to New England for the Hall of Fame thing. Including not dispelling rumors in-house that he was going to be the Patriots coach.”

Titans' decision to fire Vrabel over Patriots connection could inadvertently prove the rumors about his interest to be true

The recent allegations that things weren't so peachy between the new Titans' GM and Vrabel provide a little more context to their decision to move on. It also makes sense why they may have been bothered about his hesitancy to shut down the rumors stating he was interested in returning to the Patriots, especially publicly.

However, including what he had to say as he was being inducted into the team's Hall of Fame seems silly. Is he supposed not to say anything complimentary about a team recognizing him for what he brought to the franchise? A team he won three Super Bowls with?

Perhaps it goes deeper than just what is being speculated about since Vrabel brought a lot of success to the team during his time there.

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