NASHVILLE — While this is the first time the Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans have played each other this season, some of the players and coaches know each other well.
Bengals star receiver Ja’Marr Chase has a long history with Kristian Fulton. Chase and Fulton went to high school and college together at Archbishop Rummel High School and Louisiana State University.
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Mike Vrabel, Titans head coach, has plenty connections to Ohio. Vrabel, an Ohio native, played football at the Ohio State University.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said Vrabel was one of his favorite players growing up.
“[He] played both sides of the ball, so that was always fun to see when I was young. You didn’t see that a lot in the NFL,” Burrow said.
Tennessee’s quarterback, Ryan Tannehill has connections to Bengals head coach, Zac Taylor. Prior to being a Titan, Tannehill was at Texas A&M and played for the Miami Dolphins, where Taylor was an assistant coach. Together, the two spent nearly a decade working with one another.
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“I had a tremendous eight years being around Ryan Tannehill,” Taylor said. “I probably have a stronger library of all the throws and all the catches he made and all [the] runs he had over those eight years than maybe he does because as a coach, you end up watching those cut ups all the time.”
Taylor said Tannehill came to Texas A&M as a quarterback, but played wide receiver early in his career before returning to quarterback. Tannehill ended up being the third quarterback taken in the 2012 NFL Draft, behind Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. Both Luck and Griffin are no longer in the league.