The New England Patriots were one of the most fortunate teams over the last 25 years, as they didn't have to undergo head coaching searches every few years, having the greatest of all time under the helm of Bill Belichick.
As we know, he helped lead the franchise to six Super Bowl titles in two decades alongside quarterback Tom Brady, making most other teams in the league jealous of the consistency they had in the front office and the success they achieved because of it.
Once Robert Kraft chose to move on from Belichick, however, that wasn't the case, and after a down year under Jerod Mayo, the owner brought in Mike Vrabel as Belichick's true successor. But there was a time when it didn't look like that would come to fruition.
Vrabel was a desirable candidate for many teams seeking a new head coach for many reasons, especially his experience in the role, and that led to a few interviews around the league. But they chose to go in other directions, allowing the Patriots to bring him in, and now regret that decision as New England rides into the sunset once again.
3 teams that could've hired Mike Vrabel before the Patriots (but botched it)
New York Jets
The Patriots' divisional rival has gone through head coaches as often as people change their pants, so it's unsurprising that they would land on this list. They had a chance to hire Vrabel this past offseason, as they interviewed him for their vacancy after firing Robert Saleh, but didn't offer him the job quickly enough before the Patriots swooped in.
Instead, they chose to hire Aaron Glenn, another highly sought-after candidate, and have had a far from successful 2025 season so far. Although they're not necessarily going to be involved in a head coach search next offseason, they could be not long after if Glenn doesn't turn things around.
Making matters worse, if that is the inevitable, is that the Jets could have fired Saleh a year sooner than they did and hired Vrabel then, too. He was fired by the Titans at the end of the 2023 season and spent the next year with the Browns in various roles.
But it seems like they want to continue living up to their mantra: the Jets will Jet, and now the Patriots are the lucky ones to have Vrabel back on their sideline.
Atlanta Falcons
Another team that took the time to interview Vrabel but went in another direction is the Atlanta Falcons, which was also rumored to be interested in Bill Belichick during that same offseason.
Arthur Blank apparently wasn't too impressed with what the longtime Titans head coach had to offer, as he didn't have a follow-up interview with him and instead chose to hire Raheem Morris, who many felt was a solid decision at the time.
Since then, however, that decision is already looking like a mistake. The Falcons have some solid pieces on the roster to build around, but it just hasn't come together yet, and has led Morris to a 16-23 record. That's not entirely surprising, given his record as the Buccaneers' head coach wasn't great either, ending his tenure there at 17-31.
But there have been no indications that Blank intends to move on from Morris just yet, so there's more time for him to improve that record, and plenty of time to continue regretting not hiring Vrabel.
New York Giants
Similar to what's going on with the Jets, the New York Giants have dealt with some absolute disaster head coach hires since Tom Coughlin resigned in 2016. They appeared to have finally gotten a great one when they brought in Brian Daboll, but that went downhill quickly, and they are now without a head coach.
The former offensive coordinator was a desirable candidate after helping Bills quarterback Josh Allen reach new heights, which led him to take the Giants' head-coaching gig. But that appears to have been doomed from the start, with questions surrounding their quarterback situation and questionable draft decisions.
They could have solved many of their problems had they fired Daboll a year sooner, like the Jets with Saleh, and brought in Vrabel. But now they'll go into the 2026 offseason looking for Daboll's replacement, without him as a candidate.