New England hires former Patriots Super Bowl champ Mike Vrabel as its next coach
The New England Patriots have hired Mike Vrabel as their next head coach
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The New England Patriots have hired Mike Vrabel as their next head coach.
The team announced the hiring Sunday morning. It comes a week after Patriots owner Robert Kraft fired Jerod Mayo after the team’s season finale victory over the Buffalo Bills to 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 also interviewed for the job.
But Vrabel, a fan favorite 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. In explaining Mayo’s dismissal Kraft said while he thought he’d identified the successor to Belichick, that in hindsight he now believes Mayo wasn’t quite ready to be an NFL head coach.
In Vrabel’s case, however, he arrives with a head coaching resume burnished by a 56-48 overall record in Tennessee from 2018 to 2023. That 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.
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.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL