The first big domino of the 2024 NFL head coaching cycle fell on Tuesday afternoon. A day after it was reported the two sides would meet to discuss their future, the Tennessee Titans fired head coach Mike Vrabel after six seasons of him being the head coach.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was one of the first to report the move, and said Vrabel “is expected to be one of the top candidates available.” He followed that with one more nugget, specifically mentioning the Patriots.
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“Fair to say: Keep an eye on New England and what’s next for Bill Belichick,” Rapoport tweeted independently of his initial report.
This isn’t the first time Vrabel has been linked as a potential Patriots successor. That’s been going on since speculation around Bill Belichick’s job status truly ramped up in October.
A lot of that was built around Vrabel’s return to New England for his induction into the Patriots’ team Hall of Fame. He spoke very highly of the organization both in his official induction ceremony on Saturday and when he was honored at halftime of the game on Sunday. That included a moment in which he referred to the Patriots in the first person, saying “we’ve got a game to win.”
The difference is that now Vrabel, 48, is a coaching free agent. Rapoport’s tweet follows a report from Monday saying that Vrabel “is interested in the idea of returning to the Patriots, should New England part ways with Bill Belichick.”
