What Mike Vrabel’s new role with the Cleveland Browns will entail for the former head coach

The Cleveland Browns made a splash move yesterday during free agency that had nothing to do with signing a player.

In what was a surprise, the Browns brought on former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel for an analyst position. That recent head coach is a former standout at Ohio State and it is a return to the Buckeye State for him.

As a coaching and personnel consultant, Vrabel will work closely with the staff as another brain to bounce ideas off of, A to Z Sports has learned. He has head coaching experience that will offer listening ears to Kevin Stefanski and be able to give feedback from a mind that has led an NFL team.

Anytime you can add a former head coach and a good one at that, it’s a plus move. Vrabel was expected to be a hot commodity in the 2024 coaching search but neither he or Bill Bellichick landed jobs this go around. 

Vrabel was a third-round pick out of Ohio State in the 1997 NFL Draft and went on to play in the league for 14 seasons. Before spending six seasons as the head coach of the Texans, he was a defensive coordinator for the Houston Texans and spent time as a position coach at his alma mater.

Back in 2021 after he left the Philadelphia Eagle, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was handed a similar position by Vrabel down in Tennessee. He was there two seasons before the Browns brought him on last season. Perhaps Schwartz played a role in bringing on Vrabel.

There’s a chance the Browns are around Schwartz for just a season until he lands another gig. They won’t receive a compensatory selection in the draft or anything but to have the season with him on the staff is a huge bonus.