Within a week, the New England Patriots have gone from no head coach, to a new head coach — as the Pats tap hall of famer and former linebacker Mike Vrabel to lead the team.
It’s a chapter that so many have been waiting for.
New England Patriots have hired Mike Vrabel as their head coach. The team announced the hiring Sunday morning, a week after Patriots owner Robert Kraft fired Jerod Mayo following the team’s season-ending victory over the Buffalo Bills. Mayo finished 4-13 in his lone season.
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This marks Vrabel’s return to New England — only this time he won’t be roughing up players between the lines. He’ll be on the sidelines, and the hope is that he will stay for years to come.
He’s gone from free agency to the headman in Foxboro, but this past year, he’s still been around the game while working as a consultant for Cleveland. Before that, he had a five-year in Tennessee, earning a 54-45 record. He got that job because of his work with the Houston Texans and Ohio State Buckeyes.
Vrabel played linebacker for the Patriots from 2001 to 2008, winning three Super Bowls in 2002, 2004 and 2005.
He was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2023.
Former players and fans are celebrating his return to the team.
“He will be the clear defining leader, and I don’t think he takes this job unless that was expressed to him, that he will have control over this roster, over big decisions being made,” former backup quarterback Matt Cassel said.
You can watch a livestream of Vrabel’s formal introduction on this story Monday at noon.
