This past weekend, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reported on the New England Patriots‘ attempt to complete an unexpected deal for a head coach rather than a player.
Owner of the New England Patriots Robert Kraft is allegedly considering Jerod Mayo as his first choice to succeed Bill Belichick. Ben Volin of The Boston Globe recently reported that Mike Vrabel, the current head coach of the Tennessee Titans and a Patriots Hall of Famer, is Kraft’s chosen replacement for Belichick.
The entire passage from Volin about Vrabel :
Two sources close to the Patriots have independently said the same thing: They believe Vrabel, currently the Titans’ coach, is the Krafts’ “home run” choice to succeed Belichick.
Vrabel was the 2021 NFL Coach of the Year, went to the playoffs in three of his first five seasons in Tennessee, and took the Titans to the 2020 AFC Championship game, which included a playoff win in Foxborough against Tom Brady. Vrabel has the cachet of being a former player, and has proven he can win big games. The report of Belichick’s contract conveniently came out the same day the Krafts feted Vrabel at Gillette Stadium, inviting the Titans coach to sit with them in the owners’ box for the Patriots-Bills game.
Vrabel got a new contract with the Titans in February 2022, but the Patriots perhaps have an opportunity to pry him loose and bring him “home” to Foxborough.
The reason the Patriots would need to trade for Vrabel is that, as previously mentioned, he has a contract with Tennessee that runs through this year, having signed an extension in 2022.
As Volin notes, Kraft has a track record of making trades for head coaches—the Pats did just that in 2000 to acquire Belichick. Volin stated that Vrabel and Titans general manager Ran Carthon don’t always agree, and that the Patriots would need to send Tennessee, which is 3-5 this year, at least a first-round selection in order to acquire Vrabel.
The main Patriots storyline in the upcoming weeks and months will center on Belichick’s employment situation.
