5:33: As if the below reporting wasn’t enough indication of where this coaching search was headed, Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports confirmed that the Patriots are indeed negotiating a deal with Vrabel to become their next head coach. Schultz claims that, “barring something unforeseen, the expectation remains that both sides will reach an agreement.”
4:21PM: The Patriots seem to be well on their way to replacing one former player-head coach with another. After firing former linebackerJerod Mayo after only one season as head coach, it appears that New England is narrowing in on another former linebacker to replace him. While it has already been established that former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is the “heavy favorite,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that contract talks are already underway.
I really don’t see Ben leaving. He has already said he would be picky, and NE was the only attractive option out there with Baalke back in Jacksonville.
Maybe if something unexpected happens, like the Steelers job opening up. Could you image if the Steelers traded Tomlin to someone like Chicago for a big draft haul and hired Ben? That would give Ben the ammunition to get his QB.
Vrabel is a decent coach but Kraft is stuck in the past and that’s going to hold the Patriots back. Two head coaching hires in two seasons and the only interviews he’s done are Leftwich (Rooney rule interview), Hamilton (Rooney rule interview), Vrabel and Ben Johnson. He just wants a younger, more pliable version of Belichick to keep doing things the Patriot Way, and the rest of the league figured out that that doesn’t work a while ago.
It reminds me of the Lions last two coaching searches. When we hired Patricia, the team interviewed three candidates and was clearly locked in on Patricia from the beginning. Then when we hired Campbell, Sheila cast the net far and wide and actually tried to see everything that was out there and Campbell won the job as an outsider and not particularly highly regarded candidate at the time.
Kraft is a terrible owner. He’s cheap (lowest spender on player salaries since he took over the team), he’s stuck in the past, and he wants to make it all about him (that documentary) so that he can get in the HoF. That’s not a recipe for building something like the Lions have, where Sheila has backed Brad and Dan and handed out several huge contracts, embraces their forward thinking ideas (4th downs, aggression in general, drafting a RB in the 1st), and generally takes a back seat.
Kraft should have been looking to completely refresh the team, like Sheila did.
The good thing about Sheila is that she doesn’t think or pretend that she knows football.
She wouldn’t know 4th down strategy or drafting a RB or TE in the 1st rd.
But Sheila does know people.
She believed and trusted in Chris Spielman to lead the search. She chose a man that had never been a Coordinator before she hired a GM.
Then selected a GM that fit perfectly with the city, team, and coach that he didn’t know.
In ownership being a great leader is much more important than knowing football.
Hiring Vrabel is a course correction. He’s a Dan Campbell. He’s an alpha who his players love. He loves Foxboro the way Campbell loves Detroit. He’s a ballsy coach who’s not afraid to push the limits. He’s a punch you in the mouth culture builder. There are far more similarities between the two than any other coach in this hiring cycle. I’m not sure why Kraft is being called a terrible owner for hiring precisely the same type of coach Detroit hired.
Kudos to Aaron Glenn for refusing to be part of the DEI dog and pony show when Vrabel to the Patriots was pre-determined. Glenn deserved better than that.
I don’t think Kraft is a terrible owner, but I do think he is stuck romanticizing “The Patriot Way”.
He hasn’t seriously considered anyone outside of Belichick tree.
I think Vrabel is a good hire because of all the things you mentioned, but I’m not sure Kraft sees past he the fact he is an ex-Patriot.
I’ve said all along that this hire was already locked in when Mayo was fired.
These interviews were just a formality.
That’s why AG turned it down.
There is a long line of failed Patriot assistants who received HC jobs and tried to be Bill Belichick. This is true. Vrabel is not one of those guys. He is his own man. So while he played for them, I think he’s different from the rest.
I think Vrabel is a great hire for them. As long as he’s on the same page as the front office, I think he will have that team back in the playoffs fairly quickly. He’s going to build a tough football team, and those players are going to love playing for him.
