The New England Patriots are primed to potentially hire back-to-back former linebackers with the team as their head coach. After letting go of Jerod Mayo following a 4-13 campaign in his first year, the Patriots are planning to interview Mike Vrabel on Thursday, per NFL Media.
As an NFL linebacker, Vrabel was a three-time Super Bowl champion (2001, 2003, 2004) with the New England Patriots while playing eight of his 14 seasons with the team from 2001-2008. He earned his only career Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro nods during the Patriots' 16-0 season in 2007 that ended with an 18-1 record and a Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants.
Vrabel, 49, went 54-45 in six seasons as the Titans' head coach from 2018-2023, good for the 12th-best regular-season record in the NFL in that span. He -- along with quarterback Ryan Tannehill, running back Derrick Henry and a punishing defense -- led Tennessee to three consecutive playoff berths from 2019-2021, and the team reached as far as the AFC Championship game in 2019 before losing, 35-24, to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. The Titans were one and done in their 2020 and 2021 postseason appearances, but he earned NFL Coach of the Year honors for the 2021 season after his squad battled a number of injuries to earn the AFC's No. 1 seed. He spent the 2024 season as a consultant with the Cleveland Browns.
The Patriots have already completed two interviews with external candidates who are people of color -- Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich -- which means they are now able to hire a new head coach at any time.
