Mike Vrabel reportedly met with Jets to ‘put pressure’ on Patriots
Vrabel is reportedly interested in joining the Patriots. Did he meet with the Jets to force New England's hand?
Former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel has been mentioned for a while now as a potential replacement for Jerod Mayo if the Patriots were to fire him following a dismal rookie season.
New England fired on Mayo on Sunday, creating a vacancy for their head coaching position. Vrabel, a former head coach who was working with the Cleveland Browns as a consultant, is available for hire.
Vrabel interviewed for the Jets’ head coaching job last week. According to a report from CBS Sports’s Aditi Kinkhabwala, the move was aimed at putting pressure on the Patriots to make a move.
“Was told that Mike Vrabel’s dalliance w/ #Jets was to put pressure on #Patriots to make a move,” Kinkhabwala wrote on X. “With a young, incredibly promising QB (who improved every week despite very little talent around him), more cap space than anyone and stable ownership, of course the NE job ranks high.”
NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry said Vrabel’s Jets interview was a “calculated” move. Meeting with a divisional rival before the final game of the regular season may have forced Patriots ownership to make the job available sooner than later, he said.
“There are several people in the league that I’ve spoken to who believed and who saw that move as calculated by Vrabel,” Perry said. “[They saw it as] Vrabel shaking his tail feather from a few hundred miles away down in Jersey at the Krafts and letting them know, ‘If you want me, you might have to act fast, or you’ll have to deal with me in the division for the next decade, potentially.'”
“[Firing Mayo] is one way of making sure you’re ready to go when it comes to the Mike Vrabel sweepstakes.”
Vrabel played the bulk of his career in New England and was a member of three Super Bowl championship teams. He made his only Pro Bowl appearance in 2007 while he was a Patriot.
One of the criticisms surrounding Mayo’s hiring was that he lacked the experience for the job. Mayo spent three years as a linebackers coach under Bill Belichick, but he had no head coaching or even coordinator-level experience.
Vrabel is different when it comes to that category. He spent six seasons as head coach of the Tennessee Titans, compiling a 54-45 record before he was fired last year. He made three playoff appearances and has a pair of victories under his belt. He spent a year as defensive coordinator of the Houston Texans. Before that, he spent several years on the Texans staff as a linebackers coach. He also coached linebackers and defensive line at his alma mater, Ohio State.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft said he had handpicked Mayo as Bill Belichick’s successor years ago. He said he feared losing Mayo to another team, so he promoted him. This time, the Patriots are expected to conduct a more thorough search for a head coach, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Still, Vrabel is viewed by many as a top candidate for the open position.
“While I expect the Patriots to conduct a wide-ranging search, you’ve got to think former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel will at least be involved,” Fowler wrote on X. ” It makes too much sense given his ties here. And that has been the expectation among some inside the league in recent days that, should the job open, he will be interested.”
Vrabel will have other options, Fowler said, and so will the Patriots. Fowler named former Patriots assistant Brian Flores as a possible contender. New England also requested to interview Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson on Monday.
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