When it became clear the Patriots would move on from Jerod Mayo after just one season as head coach, Mike Vrabel's name was thrown into the mix and he immediately became the favorite to land the job. Because Robert Kraft allegedly wanted him in 2024 but wasn't available until after he chose Mayo, it was apparent the time was now to get the experienced head coach the Patriots needed.
Unfortunately, they weren't the only team that were looking in Vrabel's direction.
The Jets, who fired Robert Saleh mid-season, set up the first interview with Vrabel this offseason, putting the Patriots on the fast track to go after their guy much quicker. Although his ties to New England made it seem like he would never truly be interested in becoming the Jets head coach, Vrabel did the interview and reportedly enjoyed the process.
On top of that, according to The Athletic's Dianna Russini, the Jets were blown away by Vrabel and were dead set on getting him on the staff for the 2025 season, only to lose out to the Patriots in typical fashion.
The Jets continue their losing streak to the Patriots by missing out on Mike Vrabel
During a recent episode of her podcast “Scoop City,” Russini spoke about how much interest Vrabel garnered from head coach-needy teams this offseason. Besides most believing he would be heading back to Foxboro, she revealed the Jets were hellbent on doing whatever it took to get him under contract.
He interviewed well with the AFC East rival and may have been willing to pay "whatever Vrabel wanted" had conversations gone that far, making the Patriots acquisition even better than realized.
“Mike Vrabel came in – blew the doors off. Just blew (Jets owner) Woody [Johnson] away. Loved him. They were ready to hire him. They were going to do anything they needed to do, including giving him full roster control and essentially the power to just report to the owner. Everything you could possibly ask for.
God only knows what they would’ve given him in terms of the financial part of it, I’m sure whatever Vrabel wanted."
Given how much the Jets have struggled to find a solid solution at head coach, it makes complete sense that they would be extremely interested in a guy like Vrabel. It's likely for all the same reasons the Patriots were, too.
His six year experience with the Titans and the admiration he still receives from the players he coached certainly played a role, especially for two teams that have been dealing with disjointed locker rooms over the past year. Vrabel could have easily solved that issue for the Jets, and he was apparently interested in doing so, according to Russini.
“From what I understand, Vrabel was interested. He liked Woody, he liked what he was hearing, he liked what they were about.”
It's an interesting note, considering most believed his interview with the Jets was more of a ruse to get the Patriots to buckle down and get serious about hiring him. That might still be partially true, but Russini claims Vrabel was legitimately interested in the Jets' vacancy despite their countless problems seemingly starting with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Luckily, Patriots fans won't have to worry about what he could accomplish in New York since he will be busy improving their team instead. But this seems to provide a bit more clarity on why the Krafts may have sped up the hiring process.