NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- No team stays the same from year to year. That applies to both players and coaches, as the Tennessee Titans are facing considerable turnover on the defensive staff -- starting at the top. Defensive coordinator Dean Pees retired after 47 years of coaching.

Pees was one of coach Mike Vrabel's most significant additions when he first took the job. Pees' detailed tip sheets and masterful game plans helped forge a stingy defense in Tennessee.

Vrabel said the team is "working through the process" of determining who will be running the defensive side. But for now, replacing Pees seems like it will fall on Vrabel.

Said Vrabel, "The conversations that I had with Dean [Pees] saying, 'Hey, let's go with this.' I know what we call every play on defense and offense and special teams. I try to have input and help in all of those phases. [Himself calling defensive plays] would probably eliminate one chain of command or communication going to Dean and Dean going to the others."

One concern is that if Vrabel is calling the defense, he won't be able to be as involved with the rest of the team as much as he was the past two years.

"My role as the head coach is to be around and to be in meetings," Vrabel said. "I feel like that is one of my strengths in that I can go and be involved. That will continue whatever path that we go down."

Pees’ departure isn’t the only one on the defensive coaching staff.

A mutual decision between Vrabel and Tyrone McKenzie led the 2019 inside linebackers coach to move on to the same role with the Detroit Lions. Last season’s defensive backs coach, Kerry Coombs, left to return to Ohio State as defensive coordinator.

What was Vrabel looking for in the new coaches he hired? He followed the same blueprint he used when putting together his first staff.

#Titans HC Mike Vrabel says the common theme in his coaching staff is loyalty. He wanted people who he could trust wouldn't undercut him to advance their own careers. 💯 pic.twitter.com/i8ygV62fHz

— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) January 16, 2020

"I think that the biggest thing would be loyalty," Vrabel said in January. "You want to hire people that want to ascend to be at the top of their profession, but in doing that, there's a right way and there's a wrong way. Sometimes, guys will undercut people to get there. I think that I learned that loyalty is critical to being able to win. Everybody's going to have a different opinion, but what has to happen is there has to be one voice."

Vrabel's first move was to add former Houston Texans defensive backs coach Anthony Midget to replace Coombs. Midget had previous experience with Vrabel from 2014 to 2017, when they worked together on the Texans' staff. Midget was defensive backs coach while Vrabel was the defensive coordinator.

The familiarity is something Vrabel believes will help Midget make a positive impact on the Titans' defensive backfield.

"He [Anthony Midget] has a lot of knowledge and range with our defense. Having coached with Anthony in Houston, I am excited that he will bring a lot of knowledge to this secondary."

Midget's experience has mostly been in working with cornerbacks, while assistant defensive backs coach Scott Booker has mostly spent time working with the safeties, dating to his days with Nebraska in 2017. Booker and Coombs complemented each other well, given their specific areas of expertise.

Coombs worked primarily with the cornerbacks while with the Titans. He came to Tennessee after playing a critical role at Ohio State in developing top cornerback prospects, such as Marshon Lattimore and Gareon Conley, among others. Vrabel said his new secondary-coaching combo is coming together nicely.

"I think having watched these guys interact and talk through defense as we've been watching cutups during the offseason and how he can enhance it by saying, 'Hey we kind of ran these same things, but this is what we did.' Then, [Booker] has helped him with our terminology for something they may have called something different in Houston. I watched Anthony work with Book about maybe tweaking some things or working to make them better," Vrabel said at the combine.

The next order of business was finding a new inside linebackers coach. Vrabel flipped to Jim Haslett's number in his Rolodex because he was familiar with the knowledge and passion Haslett brings, having played for him with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team that drafted Vrabel in 1997.

Haslett has more than 30 years of pro-coaching experience, including 12 years as a defensive coordinator with the Steelers, Rams and Redskins. Haslett will be charged with continuing McKenzie's development of a young inside linebacker group that includes budding stars Jayon Brown and Rashaan Evans, as well as promising second-year player David Long.