The Titans took offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson late in the first round on Thursday, but the team’s plans for a player who seems likely to take over at right tackle for Jack Conklin were far from the only topic of conversation when head coach Mike Vrabel spoke to reporters after selecting Wilson.
Cameras set up in Vrabel’s house appeared to show his son Tyler using the toilet in the background of a shot centered on the coach, but Vrabel said that wasn’t the case.
“I know there’s some pictures going around -- Tyler was not using the restroom,” Vrabel said, via Joe Rexrode of TheAthletic.com. “Tyler was sitting on a barstool next to his mom. And as fate would have it, it came across as probably something other than that.”
There was plenty of action in the foreground of the photo as well. Vrabel was flanked by two young men. One wore a costume similar to Frozone from The Incredibles movies and the other wore an old Pro Bowl jersey of Vrabel’s and what appeared to be the kind of haircut one gets when barber shops are closed. Both were mugging for the camera while Vrabel looked at his phone and chewing tobacco.
“It’s been a long quarantine over here, man,” Vrabel said. “We’ve got a bunch of 19- and 18-year-old kids and you know, they’re stir crazy. They saw all the other kids [of coaches and General Managers] as the draft wore on, and they said, ‘Well, we’ll give our own little spin to it,’ and it was fun.”
The move to virtual draft provided a lot of glimpses into the home lives of coaches, execs and prospects and made for some memorable moments. The next two days should bring some more, but the look at Vrabel’s house may prove to be the longest-lasting because of how well it captured the way families all across the U.S. are finding levity in challenging times.