Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel comments on assistant coach Todd Downing's arrest on DUI suspicion
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Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel spoke Friday morning, commenting on offensive coordinator Todd Downing's arrest on DUI suspicion following the team's win over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.
Vrabel said he and general manager Jon Robinson have spoken with Downing and Amy Adams Strunk, the Titans' controlling owner, and are working to gather details on how to handle this situation while following NFL protocols.
"We all have a great responsibility as members of this community, as fathers and husbands and teammates to make great decisions and we understand that," Vrabel said. "Out of respect to the situation there are going to be things I’m not able to talk about."
Vrabel did not comment on whether there will be any discipline or suspension for Downing, deferring to league policies. He also did not comment on whether any alcohol was shared on the team plane Thursday night into Friday morning and chose not to speak broadly about whether there normally is alcohol on team planes with the Titans or any other teams he's played and coached for. He did confirm that the Titans have a partnership provided with a ride-sharing company to give free rides home to all players and staff after games and have since before he arrived in Nashville.
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Since the team is off Friday, Vrabel said he has not spoken to his team yet, but he talked to a few individual players.
"I’ll make sure that it gets addressed when we get back in here. Still a lot of things that we’re working through. We’ll address it and we’ll provide support where support is needed. We’ll make sure that just as always if there’s something that needs to be held accountable we’ll hold that person accountable. Just haven’t had the time to get everybody together with just the timing of it."
According to the preliminary report from Tennessee Highway Patrol, a trooper stopped Downing for speeding on Interstate 65 southbound and "observed signs of impairment and the smell of an intoxicant coming from the vehicle." Downing was taken to Williamson County Jail. Per a report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Downing was released on bond.
Downing is in his second year as Titans' offense coordinator and his fourth with the team. Prior to being promoted to offensive coordinator before the 2021 season, he served two years as the Titans' tight ends coach. He has also worked for the Vikings, Raiders and Bills, among other teams. He is 42 years old.
The Titans' offense was middle-of-the-pack in Downing's first year as offensive coordinator, finishing No. 15 in the NFL in scoring and No. 17 in yards per game. The unit has taken a step back in 2022, ranking No. 30 in yards per game and No. 24 in scoring after Thursday night's win, which represented the Titans' season highs in points and yards.
When asked if he was "discouraged" by Downing's charge, Vrabel opted against using that word.
"I don’t think discouraging," Vrabel said. "I don’t want to try to give it an adjective. It’s an incident that came up. It’s something that we are going to take very seriously, going to gather all the information that we can, figure out what the next step is and do our best to move forward. I don’t think discouraged is something that I’ve thought about today."
Contact Nick Suss at [email protected]. Follow Nick on Twitter @nicksuss.