It's official: Mike Vrabel is the next Head Coach of the New England Patriots. After years of stumbling and bumbling, Patriots owner Robert Kraft made a big decision right, and it's a critically important one. Today, we're not here to criticize but to praise Robert Kraft for this decision. They hired a top, experienced, winning Head Coach to lead the Patriots.
The thought here was that last season, Vrabel was also the right hire, but being a man of his word, Mr. Kraft, who ostensibly had promised the job to Jerod Mayo kept it. The fault was not in that truly honorable act but in the ill-advised commitment made several years before
Regardless, a year later, Mr. Kraft made a truly difficult personal decision (those who think it wasn't should think again) and moved on from Jerod Mayo. The hope is that Jerod will land a nice college head coaching job, secure the necessary background as a head coach, and return someday to be an NFL coach. Good luck, Coach Mayo! It was an issue of timing and probably little else. On to Vrabel.
It was Mike Vrabel all along for the sinking Patriots ship
Since the Patriots inexplicably and inexcusably allowed the cornerstone of the team's success, Tom Brady, to leave essentially after the 2018 season, it's been all downhill for the most part since. It was time to right the ship, give it ballast, and get it back steaming in the right direction. That would be right back to the top of the AFC East, where it belongs.
That journey begins now with Vrabel signed. While it's only half of the needed restructuring
(personnel of course, is the other half), it's a step that is right and true. Vrabel is exactly what this team needs. He's in the right place, at the right time, for all the right reasons. And it's time to salute Mr. Robert Kraft for a sound decision and for getting it right.
More than anything else, this Patriots team, bereft of talent as it is (another story altogether) needed the certainty, confidence, and stability that comes with having a verified, experienced, successful Head Coach at the helm. Mike Vrabel ticks all the boxes.
Vrabel's experience is key and why the thought, however tempting, to hire a new hot-shot young coach with no head coaching experience was a non-starter from the outset. That would have been like going from the kettle into the fire. The NFL is not a place for on-the-job training and learn-as-you-go. Mostly, that fails.
With Mike Vrabel, all of these trepidations are erased. Vrabel played 14 seasons in the NFL, eight with the Patriots. This establishes instant rapport, respect, and empathy with his players that only a former player brings to the table. While it's not essential, it's an attribute whose importance cannot be overestimated.
Mike Vrabel, experienced, successful NFL head coach was the clincher
The real asset that sealed the deal in 2025 for Vrabel to coach the Patriots (though his status as a Patriots Hall-of-Famer and familiarity with all things Patriots helped) was his successful NFL head coaching experience. There is no substitute for a team in deep transition.
After his retirement as a player, Vrabel apprenticed for three years at his alma mater, Ohio State, and then four more with the Houston Texans, including as defensive coordinator. In 2018, he was hired as head coach in Tennessee and spent six seasons learning and growing. He made the playoffs three times, including a trip to the AFC Championship game in 2019.
His overall record was 54-45, his playoff record was two wins and three losses, and he was NFL Coach of the Year in 2021. That's solid NFL experience and legitimate NFL success. When you earn a trip to the AFC Championship game, you've arrived. Additionally, losing the AFC Championship game to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs is no shame. Mahomes is already one of the greatest winning quarterbacks in NFL history.
Six years, three playoff appearances, and an AFC Championship game are all the credentials Vrabel needed to convince Robert Kraft that it was time to bring him home. And while he certainly learned from Bill Belichick in his eight seasons as a Patriots player, he is not of the so-called "Belichick coaching tree". He never coached under him as an assistant if anyone had any concerns.
All of this adds up to one great head coaching hire by the Patriots. Mike Vrabel was the consensus best available, and they got him. Congratulations to Coach Vrabel and Robert Kraft. Now, the team needs to revamp the front office, get Vrabel the right players to mold, and expect the best. We're onto the playoffs. Look out NFL ... weeeeeee're baaaaaack!