The New England Patriots have hired Mike Vrabel as their next head coach.
Sunday’s announcement comes a week after Patriots owner Robert Kraft fired Jerod Mayo following the team’s season-ending victory over the Buffalo Bills, which saw New England finish 4-13 in his lone season as coach.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, former Houston Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton and Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson were all interviewed for the job.
But Vrabel, a fan favourite during eight seasons as a player in New England where he was a member of its first three Super Bowl winners and an inductee into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2023, was the preferred candidate because of his long association with the franchise and coaching success during his six seasons in Tennessee.
In hiring the 49-year-old Vrabel, Kraft is turning to another former Patriots defensive standout who, like Mayo, built a reputation as a coach for his ability to relate to players.
But Mayo, who served as assistant under former longtime Patriots coach Bill Belichick, was a first-time head coach and struggled to get results from a young roster led by rookie quarterback Drake Maye.
Having thought he had identified Belichick’s long-term successor, Kraft was forced to concede with hindsight that Mayo was not quite ready to be an NFL head coach.
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Highlights of the New England Patriots clash with the Buffalo Bills in Week 16 of the NFL
But in Vrabel he has a head coach with a resume that boasts a 56-48 overall record in Tennessee from 2018 to 2023, and includes a 2-3 record in the playoffs and AFC championship game appearance in 2019 as part of a run of three straight postseason berths.
Vrabel served in a consultant role with Cleveland this season, but his contract expired, allowing him to speak with other teams. He also was interviewed by the New York Jets but the lure of New England won out and now he will look to rebuild the franchise he’s been associated with most during his NFL career.