Mike Vrabel makes huge admission about Chargers' head coaching job, Jim Harbaugh

In an appearance on Barstool's Pardon My Take last week, former Tennessee Titans' head coach Mike Vrabel gave some insight into how his pursuit of the Chargers' top opening went this offseason.

A little over a week after Tennessee parted ways with their ex-head coach in January, the Chargers' top brass brought him in for an interview. Vrabel's full quote:

"Thought I had a great interview in L.A. for the Chargers, and Harbaugh decided to come back to the NFL, and that's what Mr. Spanos and John Spanos communicated with me. And I respect them for that. They literally called me on a speaker phone -- and that rarely happens where if an owner is going to interview you and then go in a different direction that they'll personally call you. And they were like, 'Second place isn't going to give you much, but wanted to tell you that we just had an opportunity to hire Jim Harbaugh.'"

Despite reports that the Chargers would conduct an extensive series of second-round HC interviews with potential candidates, Harbaugh was hired less than a week after the team completed their first round. There were no confirmed candidates who are known to have received a second interview. But, it seems as though Vrabel would've been on the shortlist if Harbaugh turned down the job.

Mike Vrabel also would have been a great hire for the LA Chargers

Vrabel enters the 2024 season as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns. He spent six seasons with the Titans after breaking out with the Texans as a defensive coordinator.

From 2019-2021, the Titans made the playoffs for three straight seasons with one AFC Championship appearance. The Falcons and Panthers also showed interest in the former Tennessee head coach this offseason along with the Chargers.

NFL media as a whole seemed to be more surprised that Vrabel didn't receive more concrete interest from a team. The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported that some NFL personnel believed that Vrabel's physical presence was "intimidating" to others in an organization.

It does seem that the Chargers were serious this offseason about making their head coaching search as open and wide-reaching as possible before Harbaugh made his intentions clear.

In an alternate world where the CFP National Championship-winning head coach decided to go back to Michigan, Vrabel would've been a more than qualified pick to rebuild the Chargers' culture as he did with the Titans.

Harbaugh will lead Chargers' training camp this week as the annual offseason festivities get underway at "The Bolt" on Wednesday.

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