What was expected has become official. The New England Patriots have hired Mike Vrabel as the franchise's new head coach, and will rely on the longtime linebacker to usher in the Drake Maye era.
Vrabel and the Pats were an obvious match as soon as owner Robert Kraft fired rookie head coach Jerod Mayo hours after the team's final game of the 2024 season. Vrabel played for the franchise under Bill Belichick for eight years and won three Super Bowls. He was inducted into the team Hall of Fame in 2023.
Homecoming: Mike Vrabel and the Patriots reached a multi-year agreement to make him New England’s next head coach, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 12, 2025
Vrabel now is the seventh individual to become the head coach for a franchise he once helped win a Super Bowl as a player, joining Jerod Mayo, Bart… pic.twitter.com/LR3cpdHNQf
Previously Vrabel was head coach of the Tennessee Titans, where he beat the Pats in Foxborough in Tom Brady's final playoff game with the franchise. He posted a 54-45 career record with the Titans but was fired following the 2023 season. He spent last year working with the Cleveland Browns as a consultant, and was considered one of the very best head coaching candidates available this offseason.
Vrabel is now tasked with turning around a Patriots franchise that has fallen on hard times of late. The organization appears to have found its quarterback of the future in Maye, the third pick in the 2024 NFL draft, but otherwise is bereft of talent; New England hasn't posted a winning record since 2021 and hasn't won a playoff game since 2018.
One of the better head coaching jobs available is off the board, and the Patriots have a new head coach.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Patriots Hire Mike Vrabel as New Head Coach.