On Tuesday, Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk fired Vrabel, the first major surprise turn on the 2024 NFL coaching carousel. Based on Vrabel’s job performance, the move is hard to explain—he had a 56-48 record in six seasons in Tennessee and had made three playoff appearances. His teams had a reputation for being tough and physical and outperforming expectations. He’d helped resurrect Tannehill’s career. His only two losing seasons—granted, they were the last two—coincided with awful injury luck. His teams were good enough to justify moves like signing receiver DeAndre Hopkins before this season.

He staved off the rebuild as long as possible. But at some point, it seems, based on the Titans’ recent decision-making and messaging on Tuesday, it became Vrabel or the rebuild. And the rebuild won.

In her statement announcing the firing, beyond generally thanking Vrabel for his work and wishing him well, Strunk spent a lot of time talking about the Titans’ organizational chart.

“As the NFL continues to innovate and evolve, I believe the teams best positioned for sustained success will be those who empower an aligned and collaborative team across all football functions,” the statement read. “Last year, we began a shift in our approach to football leadership and made several changes to our personnel to advance that plan. As I continued to assess the state of our team, I arrived at the conclusion that the team would also benefit from the fresh approach and perspective of a new coaching staff.”

Reading between the lines, the “shift in our approach to football leadership” Strunk is referring to is the firing of Robinson and the subsequent hiring of Ran Carthon, who was previously the director of player personnel for the 49ers. Robinson’s firing was also a surprise; it came in December 2022, when the Titans were leading their division. It seemed, at least in part, like a referendum on the Brown trade. Two days earlier, the Titans had lost 35-10 in Philadelphia in a game in which Brown scored two touchdowns against his old team. Firing Robinson also elevated Vrabel, who had been visibly upset on draft night when the Brown trade was announced and who reportedly had sparred with Robinson over other roster decisions. If Vrabel’s belief was that the Titans should be focused on competing, not rebuilding, both Brown’s success in Philadelphia and the Titans’ winning record at the time supported that.