Imagine a sports world in the NFL where during the preseason, NFL coaches had their preseason evaluation like the players do during their games. That the head coach would go to his/her own bench of assistants and decide that this is their shot to run their own show and earn “on-the-job training.”

That one day, they would have their own aspirations of being an NFL head coach come true. Since both spring leagues; the XFL and USFL are “leagues of opportunities” for coaches, players, and refs; one head coach in the NFL is deciding to make this league become one of the chances for them.

Titans HC Mike Vrabel – Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

Acting NFL Head Coach Opportunity

During the Tennessee Titans’ preseason opener at Soldier Field against the Chicago Bears last week, head coach Mike Vrabel decided to do something that has rarely, if ever, been done during the existence of the National Football League. He decided to let his assistant head coach/defensive line coach Terrell Williams serve as the “acting head coach.”

The 49-year-old Williams has never been a head coach in the NFL before. But that’s okay because you have to start somewhere in any job field to become the next G.O.A.T. in coaching. He already boasts 11 years coaching the d-lines, including stops with the Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins, and the Oakland Raiders.

New Trend?

The question is, why does Vrabel want to start this trend? Like in any professional sports league, head coaches earn all the glory when their organization wins championships, which leads to a bigger payday.

But, they also take all the blame and are sometimes the scapegoat when they’re team isn’t winning or progressing as fast by year two or three. This usually leads to the head coach being fired.

In the past, before spring league football, there weren’t as many opportunities for fired coaches to land back on their feet.

“I’ll help him where need be,” Vrabel said. “But I do think it’ll be a great opportunity, well deserved. And so just something that I wanted to do.”

It’s now 2023, and everything is about opportunity and job skills. Vrabel’s move may change how assistants and head coaching jobs are looked at and evaluated during their tenure.

Why not lift some of the load off the head coach to really give them a look at what’s transpiring out on the field during these preseason games? It could give them a different perspective of game calling from another coach’s point of view.

 

1st Female NFL Assistant Coach

Coach Vrabel also hired the team’s initial first full-time female assistant this offseason, Lori Locust. She previously won a monumental Super Bowl ring with Bruce Arians in Tampa Bay as the assistant defensive line coach from 2019-2022.

She currently serves as the defensive quality control coach for the Titans. Locust is in her fifth overall season as a head coach.

She is no stranger to breaking barriers as she participated in a semi-professional women’s football team in 2004 as a d-lineman. In her fourth season with the Central PA Vipers, she was named captain and was the squad’s MVP at the end of the year.

The following season, her playing career came to an end because of an injury to her knee.

Conclusion

In my opinion, more NFL teams should be promoting their assistant coaches because it will open the doors for more assistant coaches to earn an active head coaching job in the preseason.

Who knows? There may be hidden talented assistant coaches out there who could be one step away from a permanent head coaching position.

 

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