Mike Vrabel and Ran Carthon didn’t know each other when the Tennessee Titans hired the former 49ers executive as the general manager in January 2023. That arrangement, though, barely lasted a year. After the coach was fired, his relationship with Carthon became the subject of speculation. Rumors suggested a rift, which the manager vehemently denied. 

His stance today, months after his own firing in January, hasn’t changed. “The day I got let go, the very first text message I got was from Vrabs,” Carthon further said on Between the Tackles.

“He was like, ‘Hey, man. Sorry, this happened. Wish you nothing but the best. Let me know how I can help you.’ That’s why I respect him the way I do. And I knew that his going to New England was going to be great.

“There was a lot of bullsh-t about [Vrabel] and me not getting along. That wasn’t true. There was never a moment when we didn’t get along.”

As per his own admission, he wasn’t in the room when the decision to fire Vrabel was made. It wasn’t his decision. 

“Truth be told, my daughter just got home from practice. She is walking through the house. Probably the first few months after Vrabs got let go, the screensaver on her phone was a picture of her and Vrabs.”

In fact, after the Titans fired the coach, Carthon’s daughter, Rhea, had reached out to Vrabel via text message. He texted her back. And then, there was Carthon’s son, who was seven when Vrabel’s firing took place. The kid wholeheartedly believed he knew what the right call for the Titans was, and firing the coach was not one of them.

“What are you doing?” the kid questioned his father. That was a tough one to answer. 

Carthon’s statement dispels the rumors that all was not good between them. The whole fiasco started when Carthon was about to get the general manager position at the Titans’ front office. However, Vrabel thought that Carthon wasn’t ready to be the manager and should be the assistant GM instead. 

And as per reports, owner Amy Adams Strunk didn’t take to that too kindly. Their relationship took a hit, and it also birthed rumors about issues between Vrabel and Carthon. But this wasn’t the only incident that led to such a speculation.

What else led to tensions in Tennessee?

The coach has spent the Titans’ bye week in Foxboro. He was a guest of owner Robert Kraft to be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame, and during his speech, he advised everyone not to take the Patriots for granted and that not every team was like the one in Foxboro. That, however, didn’t sit well with Strunk, especially after reporters wondered whether the last bit was aimed at the Titans.

In the aftermath of his speech, reports suggested that the relationship between the coach and Carthon went sour. Plus, Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal wrote a story mentioning that Vrabel might be looking for ways out of Tennessee. He reported that Kraft considered Vrabel his first choice to succeed Bill Belichick.

Of course, the Titans’ front office was unhappy because none of this was discussed with Carthon or Strunk. The latter two apparently felt it caused communication issues, but Vrabel believed he did not have to address inaccurate information.  

Regardless, Strunk mentioned no personal or professional differences with the coach while addressing his firing. And Carthon already made it known he played no part in that decision. Vrabel hasn’t publicly commented on the same, but with his tenure in Foxborough going well, he simply might not want to let his focus drift elsewhere.