The Patriots made the correct head coaching hire

After two 4-13 seasons under two separate head coaches, the New England Patriots are hoping their new hire can drag them out of the basement of the AFC East. The organization is hiring former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, the team announced Sunday. Vrabel is New England's second straight head coach of the former player variety.

A linebacker during his playing years, Vrabel spent the bulk of his career in New England, from 2001-2008, winning three Super Bowls with the team. His play during his time with the Patriots earned him Patriots Hall of Fame honors, to which he was inducted in 2023.

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Vrabel is inheriting a team that has gone 16-35 over the last three seasons, but one that has promising young stars. Quarterback Drake Maye has shown a ton of potential to be New England's next franchise quarterback and cornerback Christian Gonzalez was named a second-team AP All-Pro this season.

New England also has the most cap space in the NFL this offseason and the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft with a ton of position groups to address as the offseason begins. New England had one of the worst offensive lines in the league and must address it either in the draft or free agency if it wants to start protecting Maye and not have the pocket collapse on their quarterback almost immediately.

The Patriots new head coach is first going to be tasked with bringing in assistant coaches. According to Patriots.com reporter Evan Lazar, some top candidates for New England's offensive coordinator role under Vrabel include Josh McDaniels, Tommy Rees, Josh McCown, Nick Caley and current Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.

This is the right move for the Patriots. Vrabel has previous head coaching experience from his time in Tennessee, something Jerod Mayo lacked, and he's coached in the playoffs before. He was named NFL Coach of the Year in 2021 and during his time with the Titans was regarded are one of the better in-game coaches in the league. Owner Robert Kraft couldn't let Vrabel go to another team, especially when he was the one who inducted Vrabel to his own Hall of Fame.

On Sunday NFL Countdown, another former Patriots player commended New England for the hire.

"He's the right man for the job," former Patriots linebacker and Vrabel teammate Tedy Bruschi said. "It's been bad for the last two years with the New England Patriots organization...I love the hire. Of course, this guy is a friend of mine. But there is going to be a change. I'm a little bit surprised that this happened because there are some people upstairs in the organization that want to be heard. And sometimes they're going to have to take a bite of 'Humble Pie' and understand 'your opinion doesn't matter on this one' because there are people in the building that know more.

Vrabel is expected to be introduced as the Patriots next head coach on Monday as he gets to work trying to bring New England back to contention.

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