The New England Patriots are set to potentially hire back-to-back former linebackers with the team as their head coach. After releasing Jerod Mayo following a 4-13 campaign in his first year, the Patriots plan to interview Mike Vrabel on Thursday, according to 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 between 2001 and 2008. He earned the team’s only Pro Bowl and All-Star nominations. first team All-Pro of his career during the Patriots’ 16-0 season in 2007, which finished 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 to 2023, good for the NFL’s 12th-best regular-season record in that span. He, along with quarterback Ryan Tannehill, running back Derrick Henry and a tough defense, led Tennessee to three straight playoff berths from 2019 to 2021, and the team reached the AFC Championship game in 2019 before to lose, 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 team battled several injuries to earn the AFC’s No. 1 seed. He He spent the 2024 season as a consultant. with the Cleveland Browns.
The patriots have has already completed two interviews with outside candidates who are people of color (Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich), meaning they can now hire a new head coach at any time.
