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Browns hiring Mike Vrabel as consultant, sources say

BEREA, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns are hiring former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel as a coaching and personnel consultant, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and Field Yates on Friday.

Vrabel heads back to his native state of Ohio, where he was an All-American defensive lineman for the Ohio State Buckeyes in the mid-1990s.

In January, the Titans fired Vrabel after back-to-back losing seasons.

Vrabel, 48, coached in Tennessee for six years and led the Titans to four consecutive winning seasons, including the No. 1 seed in the AFC in 2021. Vrabel also led the Titans to the AFC Championship Game in the 2019 playoffs and finished with a 54-45 record in Tennessee.

He was a linebacker for 14 seasons in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. He was selected to the Pro Bowl and was a first-team All-Pro in 2007 for the Patriots, when he had a career-best 12.5 sacks. He won three Super Bowls with the Patriots.

Vrabel retired as a player in 2010, finishing his career with 769 tackles, 57 sacks, 11 interceptions and 19 forced fumbles.