Foxborough, Mass. (WEI/WGR Sports Radio 550) - The New England Patriots have their new leader in the locker room, agreeing to terms with Mike Vrabel to be the 16th head coach in franchise history.
ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter was the first to report the hiring, saying Vrabel and the Patriots have agreed to a multi-year agreement.
Vrabel, receiving his red jacket as a Patriots Hall-of-Famer in 2023, won three Super Bowls while playing linebacker over eight seasons in New England. His best season came in 2007, where he was voted to the Pro Bowl and selected as a First-Team All-Pro.
The 49-year-old is also a member of the Patriots All-2000s Team, 50th Anniversary Team and All-Dynasty Team. And while many members of that vaunted dynasty defense have been more celebrated, Vrabel is routinely cited by his former teammates as the tone-setter for their unit.
This will be Vrabel’s second stop as a head coach in the NFL, having previously served as head coach of the Tennessee Titans from 2018 to 2023.
By his second season in Tennessee, Vrabel had turned a program hovering around .500 for a decade into a tough-nosed winner.
Not only did he lead Tennessee to a 20-13 victory in the Wild Card Round at Gillette Stadium in Tom Brady’s final game as a member of the Patriots, he had his team playing in the 2019 AFC Championship Game two weeks later, putting a scare into the Kansas City Chiefs in a 35-24 loss at Arrowhead Stadium.
He followed that up with consecutive double-digit-win seasons, going 11-5 in 2020 and 12-5 in 2021 as the AFC’s top seed. That 2021 season led to Vrabel winning NFL Coach of the Year, with his defense improving from 24th to sixth year-over-year, and doing so while the team dealt with a record-number of injuries. Vrabel fielded a record 91(!) different players that season, yet still ended up with the best record in the conference.
Most impressive of all?
He did all that winning with Ryan Tannehill as his quarterback, leaning on an old-school ground-and-pound style that showcased running back Derrick Henry as one of the best players of his generation.
After finishing below .500 in 2022 and 2023, Vrabel had a well-documented falling out with Titans ownership, ultimately leading to his ousting. After going 41-24 in his first four seasons on the job in Tennessee, a 13-21 record over his final two seasons was not good enough for Vrabel to stay on in Nashville.
In 2024, Vrabel worked as a consultant on Kevin Stefanski’s staff in Cleveland - which, if you read the Akron Beacon Journal’s story on what Vrabel’s role entailed, seemingly had him relatively hands-off for the team’s 3-14 season.
Hands off or not, this allowed Vrabel to stay involved in the game this past season, as he was passed over for multiple head coaching openings last offseason.
Vrabel is a proven winner, and someone who will establish a tough culture from Day 1 on the job in New England. That’s who he was as a player, and that mindset has translated over to his personality as a head coach.
And after the season New England just had under Jerod Mayo, it’s time for the organization to bring an adult in the room and clean things up.