Titans head coach Mike Vrabel once told Philip Rivers he ‘would never be Drew Brees’ when they clashed

If you’ve seen Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel recently, former NFL linebacker looks like he’s still in good shape. The 45-year-old retired from the NFL 10 years ago after 14 successful seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. Since he’s not that far from his playing days, he has several chances each year to train against players he shared the field with.

Take the example of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers, who is playing in the 17th season this year. He and Vrabel had a few encounters in the early 2000s, and it was something Vrabel remembered before their game on Thursday night. Since the Titans and Colts are set to face off tonight on “Thursday Night Football”, ESPN’s Dianna Russini asked Vrabel if he remembered any stories that had to do with Rivers’ famous trash talk. Vrabel said he certainly did, but it wasn’t about Rivers running his mouth, but Vrabel leading his.

“Well I might have remembered a young Philip Rivers trying to replace Drew Brees and we were at Qualcomm stadium and I told him – to anyone within earshot – that he would never be Drew Brees and that I knew it and he knew it and everyone knew it, “Vrabel says.” So we laughed about it and it looks like the two of them really ended up having really good careers. ”

Rivers, who was brought in by the San Diego Chargers to replace Brees in 2004, has certainly had a successful career. He even decided to keep playing after he and the Chargers agreed to go their separate ways this last offseason. Rivers left Los Angeles with dozens of franchise records, including games played, wins and successful assists.

Rivers, who is 5-3 so far with the Colts this season, completed 67.9% of his passes for 2,087 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Colts are right behind the Titans 6-2 in the AFC South, so this Week 10 showdown is incredibly important when it comes to the playoff race. We’ll definitely be keeping an eye out if Rivers decides to throw some verbal punches at Vrabel and the Titans tonight.