After Robert Kraft made the tough decision to move on from Bill Belichick after two decades as the Patriots' head coach, there were a lot of whispers regarding the owner's preference for who he'd like to be the legend's successor. Most reports suggested Mike Vrabel was the front runner, but he was still running the show in Tennessee, which ultimately led to Jerod Mayo taking on the role.
That almost immediately proved to be a mistake for multiple reasons, which brought the chatter surrounding Vrabel to the forefront once again, especially since he had been let go by the Titans just a few days before. But Kraft had made it clear that he believed Mayo was the right guy for the job, even writing it into his newest contract, leaving Vrabel on the table until this past offseason.
The head coach search process was deemed almost pointless this year with Vrabel available, and once he was hired, it was clear he was the one who Kraft wanted all along. He is now revealing when he knew that he wanted the former linebacker on the Patriots' sideline, which brings up more questions than answers.
Robert Kraft's conflicting statements on head coaches bring up interesting questions
During an appearance on "Up & Adams" on Wednesday, Kraft shared the moment he knew Vrabel would be a great head coach in New England, which goes back to the Titans' 2019 playoff win over the Patriots, which happened to also be Tom Brady's final game before leaving for the Bucs.
While it's totally plausible that Kraft already felt the end was near with Belichick at that point in time, given that Brady leaving is said to be the catalyst that led to their falling out, it does bring into question previous statements he has made about Mayo.
When did Robert Kraft know Mike Vrabel would be a great leader?
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) July 30, 2025
He says the “magic moment” was when Vrabel’s Titans took down Brady and Belichick in the playoffs 👀@heykayadams | @Patriots pic.twitter.com/lUM2NWbaHB
Before the 2024 season, Kraft said he knew Mayo was going to be the successor to Belichick years before it took place, similarly to what he's now saying about Vrabel. That appeared to be accurate based on the writing in Mayo's contract extension from the year before, that reportedly included his position to succeed the now UNC head coach, it just came a bit sooner than expected.
If the timeline he's claiming is true, it's odd to think he also had Vrabel on his mind if he was already looking forward to Mayo's future in the role.
Regardless, it's unlikely he could have predicted the Titans deciding to move on from Vrabel after his successful six year tenure as the head coach, which made him more comfortable going with Mayo instead.
Now that that experiment is over, Vrabel is the guy and already appears to be making far more progress in making the Patriots a competitive team again than his predecessor, which is exactly what any owner would want. His experience as a head coach and a player is clearly paying off and it has many analysts predicting New England could be a wild card team this year, a far cry from what they were just one year ago.
That's the most important part of this all, no matter whether what Kraft has said lines up with what has happened or not. At least the Patriots look to be heading back to relevancy, which is what matters at the end of the day.