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Titans hope Jon Robinson-Mike Vrabel pairing results in championships

"It's very inclusive," Jon Robinson said of his relationship with Mike Vrabel. "We're going to meet about everything." Jim Brown/USA TODAY Sports

MOBILE, Ala. -- Nashville’s newest power duo -- Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson and head coach Mike Vrabel -- descended upon the Senior Bowl for three days representing a new era of Titans football.

Vrabel roamed Mobile practices and hotels rocking Titans pullovers while Robinson sported a "Ville" hat. The two are starting a mission to redefine success in Tennessee.

They walked together with a certain swagger, like a tag-team duo in its early stages. The Titans' success in 2018 and beyond will determine whether that synergy and power leads to their goal of championships.

“It’s good, but we haven’t made many hard decisions,” Vrabel said about his relationship with Robinson. “We’re still in the honeymoon stage.”

Buzz words and phrases over the last week include "aligned," "together," "same vision," "same philosophy" and "respect."

“It’s very inclusive,” Robinson said of the relationship. “We’re going to meet about everything.”

Robinson exudes a deliberate confidence. He’s straight forward, intelligent and it feels as if he’s always evaluating -- prospects and people. Vrabel appears to have a commanding social presence. He epitomizes the definition of a football guy, but also has emotional versatility.

“Jon and I's relationship is going to set the standard and the tone for the entire organization,” Vrabel said. “That relationship will be built on, obviously, alignment and loyalty and trust and mutual respect.”

“That will be the most critical relationship in the building. When we walk out of his office or we walk out of my office, we're going to walk down the hallway, people are going to look and they’re going to notice what's going on with Mike and Jon. Are they together? We're going to lead my staff, his staff and the entire building with that in mind.”

Vrabel and Robinson spent seven years together in New England from 2002-08. Vrabel was a player. Robinson was a scout. They won two championships during that time. That initial relationship set the path for their 2018 Titans reunion, but they weren’t best friends.

“I was there and watched him practice on a daily basis. We had some interaction walking through the hallways,” Robinson said. “But realistically, when I left training camp in Foxborough, I was out scouting guys to take Mike’s job and he knew that.”

Robinson and Vrabel are hoping to duplicate the Patriots Way with different personnel and circumstances in Tennessee.

Vrabel is the highly touted rookie head coach with a five-year guaranteed contract laced with lofty expectations. Robinson is scouting for people to help, rather than replace him these days.

Vrabel can lean on Robinson for advice, because the Titans GM was in a similar position two years ago. Robinson has exceeded his expectations in building the Titans roster and now he’s putting his confidence in Vrabel to follow his path and share a similar testimony.

The Titans fanbase is trusting in Robinson just as Robinson is trusting in Vrabel. Vrabel and Robinson have each pitched their own assistant coach candidates and interviewed them together.

One area where Vrabel and Robinson already appear aligned is how scheme coincides with players, particularly quarterback Marcus Mariota.

"I believe that players are more important than plays," Vrabel says, mentioning he'll never try to make players uncomfortable to fit into a particular scheme.

Vrabel seems content with Robinson having personnel control. Robinson seems focused on finding out what Vrabel-type players are and then finding them. And Robinson, as he typically does, will likely take a step back once the roster is built and the team hits the field.

“This is a relationship business. It’s about working with someone you share the same vision, same philosophy with,” Robinson said. “At the end of the day, that’s what boils down to wins and losses -- putting players in the best position for the team to be successful."

Even in the honeymoon period, Robinson and Vrabel are showing a level of cooperation and happiness between head coach and front office that was missing toward the end of the Mike Mularkey era.

The key will be maintaining that through the ups and the downs.