How an NFL Champion Team Is Built

After the Titans shocked the NFL world by beating the top-seeded Ravens in the divisional round, I received a text message from a coach connected to the Titans.

“One hundred percent,” he wrote, “That team has taken on that guy’s personality.”

That guy is Mike Vrabel, and his personality indicates that these Titans fully realize that they are the baddest guys in the room.

But the truth beneath that truth is that this started before Vrabel arrived in 2018. It started when GM Jon Robinson arrived two years before that and immediately injected the team with that personality this coach was referencing. It’s clear the Titans are built with identity, and for the few players that pre-date Robinson in…