After a close win over the Saints on Sunday, the Patriots are now preparing to finish their three-game road game stretch by visiting the Titans in Week 7. It will be a homecoming for Mike Vrabel, who was Tennessee's head coach for six years. It will also be the first time he will face his former team since they unexpectedly fired him at the end of the 2023 season.
The Patriots were already going into this game as the presumed favorites, especially since the Titans have been an utter disaster over the first six games. Despite picking the best quarterback of this year's draft class and bringing in a new head coach that the higher-ups believed would be the right successor to Vrabel, they've become one of the worst teams in the league in record time.
Things have gotten so bad in Nashville that Callahan threw his team under the bus after Sunday's loss, which might have been the final straw for ownership. By Monday afternoon, they had already decided to fire him, just as they ironically play Vrabel's new team.
Former coach Mike Vrabel will play his old team this weekend. https://t.co/BHD8f8eAuf
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 13, 2025
If this wasn't a sign of things to come, it's hard to say what is.
Mike Vrabel was just handed the ultimate gift in the days leading to his Tennessee return
Vrabel's departure felt very premature, and it was clear that the Titans didn't have a legitimate plan to fill his position, which is just another indication of that. Now they face a big Week 7 matchup with their old head coach on the opposite sideline, without a head coach of their own, which feels like the worst timing possible.
But for the Patriots, and Vrabel, it seems like the best.
They now have the chance to prove they made a mistake in letting Vrabel go, but rewarded New England with their new longtime head coach. That could be enough to motivate the Patriots roster to dominate on Sunday, not only to extend their win streak to four games in a row but also to prove their support for their coach.
They've shown that a lot this season so far, and have expressed it to reporters in droves, so it's not like they really need anything more to prove they love their new head coach.
However, knowing they will now face his old team, who just fired their Vrabel replacement, that might give them a bit more of an edge to really drive up the score and (hopefully) bring home another impressive win.