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Patriots insider: Mike Vrabel ‘would be interested’ in coaching the Patriots
"I think that he looks at the Patriots despite the warts that they've shown and says, 'I'd go back there.'"
As rumors continue to swirl around Jerod Mayo and his future in New England, speculation has sprouted up over who exactly the Patriots could turn to on the sideline if Robert Kraft makes a drastic coaching change in 2025.
It should come as little surprise that Mike Vrabel sits atop the list of potential candidates if New England begins an unexpected coaching search.
Vrabel — who won three Super Bowls across eight seasons with the Patriots — already holds the Patriots in high regard.
“I haven’t been back as much as I should since 2009, but I want to thank the fans who made playing in this stadium unbelievably special,” Vrabel said at Gillette Stadium after his Patriots Hall-of-Fame ceremony in 2023. “When we traveled, you were there. When we were here, you were there. … I don’t want you to take this organization for granted.
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“I’ve been [to] a lot of places, this is a special place with great leadership, great fans, great direction, and great coaching. Enjoy it, it’s not like this everywhere.”
But beyond his ties to the Patriots, Vrabel has an impressive coaching resume. Vrabel took home 2021 NFL Coach of the Year honors with the Titans, while also leading Tennessee to an AFC Championship Game appearance against the Chiefs in 2019.
While Vrabel was fired by Tennessee last offseason, the 49-year-old coach is expected to be a hot commodity on the NFL’s upcoming coaching carousel in 2025.
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ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky even noted that Vrabel could return to his alma mater — Ohio State — if the Buckeyes decide to fire head coach Ryan Day.
But if New England does decide to make an about-face and move on from Mayo this offseason, could Vrabel actually be a realistic option?
“Mike Vrabel would be interested in coaching for the New England Patriots,” NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran said Tuesday. “I think that he looks at the Patriots despite the warts that they’ve shown and says, ‘I’d go back there.’
Fellow NFL insider Albert Breer added that Vrabel should be viewed as one of the top free-agent coaches on the market this offseason.
“The likelihood is that (Vrabel) would return to the NFL, and I would tell you this too: I think he’s at or near the top of the list of the three teams that have openings right now,” Breer said.
If New England is looking for more experience and stability at head coach, Vrabel is an intriguing option — especially if his presence helps stabilize a New England defense that has significantly regressed in 2024.
But if Kraft and the Patriots are set on moving on from Mayo and bringing in Vrabel, the former Titans head coach may hold sway over additional personnel changes as part of joining New England.
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“I think he has a real idea of what it should look like and what he would want it to look like going forward,” Breer said of Vrabel. “I think he’d bring a general manager with him. It’d probably be (former Titans director of player personnel) Ryan Cowden.
“I think he had an offensive coordinator in mind, maybe (Browns pass game specialist and tight ends coach) Tommy Rees, who’s with him in Cleveland, maybe (ex-Patriots offensive coordinator) Josh McDaniels.”
That would be a significant overhaul for the Patriots, especially if it means also removing de-facto GM Eliot Wolf as part of Vrabel’s potential hiring.
But even with the appeal that Vrabel presents, Curran stressed that New England hasn’t necessarily reached the point where looking for other coaching candidates is on the table.
“Given the things that I know about how the Patriots have felt about Jerod Mayo all season long, they were so solidly in his corner that I would imagine that they have not moved out of his corner significantly enough to begin intimating that they would move on from him,” Curran said.
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