Mike Vrabel is a top NFL Coach, though some analysts don't think that highly of him. Vrabel had a great run in 2019 and the early 2020s with the Tennessee Titans. He took that team to the NFL Championship game in 2019 and had three playoff berths during his tenure. Surely, they'd like to have him back.
Vrabel was a hot commodity this offseason. Teams like the Jets were hovering around like vultures, hoping to lure him away from the obvious choice, the New England Patriots. Fortunately, owner Robert Kraft finally did the right thing and zeroed in on Vrabel, and the rest was history.
Vrabel is unquestionably one of the best coaches in the NFL, and he's also one of the most astute personnel evaluators. An NFL coach doesn't win Coach of the Year on a lark. It's a testament to the great respect for the man and his accomplishments. But not everyone thinks so highly of him.
CBS Sports ranks Mike Vrabel in the middle of NFL coaches
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports has ranked NFL Head Coaches, and Mike Vrabel was listed as a Tier 2 a "serviceable" veteran coach and ranked No. 16. A former NFL Coach of the year (2021) who had a one-year hiatus from NFL coaching is dismissed like that?
"Is the former Patriots linebacker a solid bet after a mostly directionless Jerod Mayo dalliance? His zesty approach as a former Titans leader suggests as much. Still, Tennessee never quite escaped its reputation as an old-school offense under his watch. This marriage looks promising on his preferred side of the ball thanks to new personnel, but Drake Maye's growth is the real X factor."
What about Vrabel's experience as Tennessee's head coach and, more recently, his several-month brilliant offseason with the Patriots as a personnel evaluator doesn't add up to a top grade as both coach and de facto GM? The answer is - nothing.
Mike Vrabel will prove CBS Sports wrong
Not ranking Vrabel among the NFL's top coaches is laughable. If being fired is part of the reason, it is de rigueur for most NFL coaches, including the presumptive best, Bill Belichick. So Vrabel was fired, what of it? Happens to the best of them.
Instead, Cody Benjamin should have looked at the quarterbacks Vrabel had during his Tennessee tenure. He had Marcus Mariota and Ryan Tannehill for the most part. They'll not likely be gracing the Pro Football Hall of Fame anytime soon. Yet, even so, with Tannehill, Vrabel took the Titans to the AFC Championship game.
Vrabel learned from his Tennessee days. He took the New England job partly because he knew he had a Pro Bowl or better young quarterback in Drake Maye. That's where experience counts. Additionally, Vrabel has reshaped the Patriots roster in one offseason to the extent that it's considered a playoff contender, and more after finishing last the previous two seasons.
CBS Sports is way off-base. Mike Vrabel is a top 10 NFL Coach before he even coaches a snap in 2025. He'll prove it when he takes the Patriots to the playoffs in 2025, and maybe more. Don't be shocked if he's named the NFL Coach of the Year again this season or maybe next. It's in his genes.