It's a matter of where, not if, Mike Vrabel will be coaching next year

Mike Vrabel is the hottest head coaching candidate for the 2025 NFL season and is getting attention from all over. After coaching the Tennessee Titans from 2018-2023 he was fired following back-to-back losing seasons and took a job as a coaching and personnel consultant with the Cleveland Browns. He'll be back on the sidelines in 2025.

Teams at the bottom of the standings in the NFL have to be looking at Vrabel as their top head coaching candidate for next year, and one team has reportedly made it clear he is at the top of their list.

According to SNY's Connor Hughes, Vrabel is the team's most coveted head coaching candidate, especially after interviewing Jon Robinson for their general manager position. Robinson and Vrabel worked together for four years in Tennessee.

Multiple NFL sources believe that Mike Vrabel is the coaching candidate that "the Jets covet the most," per SNY's @Connor_J_Hughes

More reporting from Connor on the Jets' GM and head coaching search: https://t.co/6ju4ehkg7T pic.twitter.com/9GuJ8sYP8q
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) December 17, 2024

You don't have to look far to find another team that would be interested in Vrabel's coaching. MetLife Stadium could become the battlefield for the former head coach. Giants co-owner John Mara said in October that he doesn't anticipate firing head coach Brian Daboll but at 2-12, one would think he's now considering making the move. The Giants are almost certainly going to draft a quarterback with their first-round pick so the question becomes whether or not Vrabel wants to coach a rookie quarterback. If he doesn't, two other teams stand out as possibilities.

One of those teams Vrabel is already familiar with. During his playing days, Vrabel spent eight years as a linebacker for the New England Patriots, winning three Super Bowls. The Patriots have a promising quarterback in Drake Maye and will have one of the top picks in the draft. The issue with New England is it's unclear if they'll have a head coaching vacancy. Owner Robert Kraft made it clear that Jerod Mayo was going to be the team's Bill Belichick succession plan so would Kraft fire him after one season? If Kraft can admit he was wrong in choosing Mayo as Bill Belichick's successor, Vrabel would be a great candidate to take over in New England.

Chicago Bears fans had been begging for the team to fire Matt Eberflus for weeks and after the Bears' disastrous loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving the move was made. Chicago is now looking for a head coach for next season, and fans want Vrabel. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer told ESPN Chicago Radio that Vrabel is at the top of the Bears' wishlist. The hire would please Bears fans after Eberflus' tenure with the team was nowhere near what they were hoping. We can also look outside of the NFL to find another team that would be interested in Vrabel.

Despite Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork saying last Thursday that he is "absolutely confident" head coach Ryan Day returns in 2025, a loss in Saturday's opening College Football Playoff game to Tennessee could change that. If Day is fired, Vrabel would be an intriguing candidate to coach the Buckeyes. Vrabel spent his college days at Ohio State and got his start in coaching there as a defensive assistant from 2011-2013.

The question would be if Vrabel wants to make the move to the college game, where he'd have to contend with recruiting and NIL and all the headaches that come with it. We've already seen a former NFL head coach make the move to college in Bill Belichick. Could Vrabel be next?

As the NFL season heads toward the finish line, we'll get a clearer picture on which teams will have head coaching vacancies and those that will be fighting for Vrabel this offseason. All we can do now is speculate, but these teams should already be thinking about who they want on their sidelines next season.