The New England Patriots have hired former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel as their head coach, the team announced Sunday.
Vrabel, 49, went 54-45 in six seasons as Titans coach, along with a 2-3 record in the playoffs. He is also a former Patriots player, having played linebacker for the team from 2001 to 2008, winning three Super Bowls.
Vrabel was hired to replace Jerod Mayo, another former New England linebacker, who was fired after just one season with the team. Mayo went 4-13 in his only year at the helm.
During the 2024 season, Vrabel was a coaching consultant for the Cleveland Browns before his contract expired on December 30 in anticipation of potential head coaching interviews.
Vrabel was a coveted coaching candidate during this year’s recruiting cycle. He interviewed with the New York Jets and the Chicago Bears before finally agreeing to terms with the Patriots.
Vrabel had a successful start to his tenure in Tennessee. His teams posted winning records in each of his first four seasons and made the playoffs in three consecutive seasons from 2019 to 2021. Under Vrabel, the Titans reached the AFC championship game after the 2019 season. In 2021, Tennessee was the number one seed in the AFC and had a first round bye.
However, the Titans missed the playoffs in Vrabel’s final two seasons and their win total dropped from seven to six from 2022 to 2023. In his six years with the team, Tennessee had six different starting quarterbacks.
Vrabel’s coaching career began in college with the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2011. He made the jump to the NFL in 2014, joining the Houston Texans’ defensive staff. He was defensive coordinator for one season in 2017 before accepting the Titans job.
As a player, Vrabel began his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1997 after the team selected him in the third round of that year’s draft. He spent four years with the Steelers before joining New England as a free agent.
Vrabel became a franchise legend during his eight seasons with the Patriots as one of the best players on a defense that played a major role in the early years of New England’s dynasty. Vrabel was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2023.
New England should offer a more stable quarterback situation for Vrabel in his second stop as head coach. The team selected Drake Maye in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft and he played well in his rookie season.
In addition to Maye, the Patriots will have the fourth pick in the upcoming draft, as well as more than $130 million in cap space, according to Spotrac.
