UPDATE: Vrabel has officially agreed to a multi-year deal to become the Patriots’ next head coach, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The New England Patriots appear close to deciding on their next head coach as talks are heating up between the organization and former linebacker Mike Vrabel, per Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz.
New England decided to move on from another former player as head coach shortly following the final game of the regular season. Jerod Mayo was fired after just one season with the team and led them to a 4-13 record, tying Rod Rust in 1990 for the shortest tenure ever spent by a head coach with the Patriots organization.
Mike Vrabel has been a hot name on the head coaching market. After spending 17 seasons in the NFL as a player, eight of which were with the Patriots, Vrabel worked his way up the coaching ranks. He spent six seasons as a head coach with the Tennessee Titans in which he led the team to a 54-45 overall record and won two playoff games. He was fired following the 2023 season and spent this season as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns.
Vrabel, or whoever is officially named the head coach, will walk into a solid situation. The biggest storyline of the season was the development of Drake Maye, who showed some promising signs to close the season. He finished the year completing 66.67% of his pass attempts for 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while adding 421 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns across his 12 starts. In addition, they will have the fourth pick in the NFL draft and about $130 million in cap space to begin building out a contender.
Mayo was hand-picked to be the successor to Bill Belichick after his 24 seasons with the organization. Patriots owner Robert Kraft called the firing one of the hardest decisions he has ever made. They will now hope to begin a new era with the upcoming coaching hiring—keep an eye on the official announcement coming soon.
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