FOXBORO, Mass. — One minute before noon on Monday, the future of the New England Patriots smirked alongside owner Robert Kraft as Kraft recalled the time Vrabel brought his upstart 2019 Tennessee Titans to Gillette Stadium and ended a dynasty.
Now, Vrabel stood next to Kraft as the next head coach of the Patriots, charged with bringing New England back to success after back-to-back 4-13 seasons.
The Patriots turned to Vrabel after their quick coaching search wrapped up just seven days after the team fired Jerod Mayo following the Jan. 5 regular-season finale. The next day, they interviewed two out-of-the-league Black head coaches, which satisfied the league’s Rooney Rule, before chatting with Vrabel and Ben Johnson. In a move that shocked no one, they chose Vrabel.
“In the interview process, Mike showed us that he had a very deep understanding of our current team – and most importantly, he had a clear and focused strategy for how to get us back to a championship way,” said Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Vrabel arrives to the Patriots amid a time of tumult and change. The swifter-than-expected departure from Bill Belichick led to Eliot Wolf taking over the front office. The team’s draft class outside of Drake Maye was a massive whiff and they didn’t do anything in free agency to help the team.
Between that and the way Vrabel’s time in Tennessee ended, there’s been thought that Vrabel might bring an executive with him to New England, perhaps Ryan Cowden, who was the vice president of player personnel during Vrabel’s time with the Titans, and spent this season with the Giants. For now, Vrabel said no decisions on that front have been made yet, but added he’d have conversations with Wolf about it.
“I’m confident that those types of decisions are all going to sort themselves out,” Vrabel said of whether he’ll have roster control. “We don’t always have to be on the same page. But we want to have a shared vision.”
Vrabel, of course, was a three-time Super Bowl winner as a linebacker during the Patriots’ first dynasty. But while he spent a majority of his playing time under Bill Belichick, he never worked as a coach under Belichick.
Before landing the Titans’ top job, Vrabel worked under Bill O’Brien with the Houston Texans and Urban Meyer and Luke Fickell at Ohio State.
But the version of the Patriots that Vrabel is about to take over are a far cry from the version that Vrabel played for. His to-do list will be long. Up first: Picking an offensive and defensive coordinator.
“That’s far from solidified,” Vrabel said of who he might pick for those roles. “We want to put the best, talented coaches in front of our players so when they stand in front of the players, I want them to embrace what every coach is teaching.”
Part of the reason the Patriots’ job was so appealing was the success of Drake Maye’s rookie season. Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s draft, threw 15 touchdown passes in basically 11 games last season. Vrabel mostly worked with Ryan Tannehill during his time in Tennessee, and if he can continue to develop Maye, that would go a long way in helping him find success in New England.
“Put great people around him,” Vrabel said of how he’ll develop Maye. “I would say that my involvement will be as it relates to game management and situational awareness … and trying to develop him as a leader of the offense. … Drake is going to be his own person, but I’m going to give him some things that I think are necessary to help him win games. We have to be a very efficient passing team.”
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(Photo: Jason Hanna / Getty Images)
