Patriots officially have their next head coach
The New England Patriots are officially doing what most believed would eventually happen. They are hiring Mike Vrabel to be their next head coach. Ian Rapoport just beat Adam Schefter to the report on X Sunday morning.
Most recently a coaching and personnel consultant for the Cleveland Browns, Vrabel was the Titans’ head coach from 2018-23. He compiled a 54-45 record (.545) over his six seasons, plus a 2-3 record in the playoffs. He notably helmed the Titans when they defeated the Patriots, 20-13, in the 2019 Wild Card round at Gillette Stadium, in Tom Brady’s final game as a Patriot.
He takes over for former Patriots teammate and fellow ex-linebacker Jerod Mayo, who presided over a 4-13 season in his first and only season as New England head coach.
Vrabel interviewed with the Patriots for their head coaching gig on Thursday in Foxboro. The Pats also interviewed Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, another popular head coaching candidate, for the vacancy, virtually on Friday.
The Patriots also previously interviewed Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton for their head coaching job, which satisfied the NFL’s “Rooney Rule” and allowed them to move quickly in the process to hire Vrabel – and drew some criticism. In addition, they had requested to interview Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, but Glenn declined the interview.
Vrabel had also met with the New York Jets and Chicago Bears before interviewing with the Patriots.
There are plenty of next steps for Vrabel to take as the Pats’ new face of the football operation. It remains to be seen how he will build out his staff, as well as how the Patriots’ front office will take shape going forward. Only Mayo was fired after the conclusion of the 2024 regular season, as all assistant coaches and front office executives remain in the organization, for now.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
