The former Patriots linebacker was fired after six seasons leading the Titans.
As the New England Patriots are trying to figure out how to proceed following a 4-13 season, one of their former players just hit the head coaching market. Mike Vrabel was fired from his position with the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday, immediately becoming one of the hottest coaches available.
His ex-club, of course, might also be in need of a new head coach soon. Bill Belichick, who led the organization for the last 24 years and who coached Vrabel when he was still an active NFL linebacker, is not guaranteed to keep his job.
Belichick and team owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft are holding a series of meetings this week to discuss the future of the organization, and whether or not the long-time coach will be a part of it. What will come from those talks remains unclear, but Vrabel suddenly becoming available seemingly adds another dimension to the situation unfolding behind closed doors at One Patriot Place.
Vrabel is not Bill Belichick, but he has proven himself a pretty good coach in his own right. He led the Titans to four straight winning seasons right out of the gate — including three trips to the playoffs — before dipping below .500 in each of the last two years.
Still, Vrabel is a well-respected coach in the league, and in New England in particular: while his Titans did knock the Patriots from the playoffs in what turned out to be Tom Brady’s final game with the franchise, his contributions to the team’s first three Super Bowl teams have kept him in good standing throughout.
In fact, Vrabel was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame just three months ago. During the ceremony, which had to be closed to the public due to the weather, the 48-year-old spoke at length about his experience in New England and how it impacted him.
He also sang the same tune the next day, when he was honored at halftime of the Patriots’ game against the visiting Buffalo Bills.
“I want you not to take this organization for granted,” Vrabel told the fans at Gillette Stadium at the time. “I’ve been a lot of places. This is a special place with great leadership, great fans, great direction, great coaching. Enjoy it. It’s not like this everywhere.”
It is clear Vrabel still holds the Patriots in high regard, and vice versa. The question is whether or not those sentiments might have an impact on the organization’s current preparation about the future, and Bill Belichick’s place in it.
Will him being available without the need for draft pick compensation, for example, change how the Krafts view their current situation? Might his firing prompt the Patriots’ ownership to get proactive in an effort to bring him in? What trickle-down effect would Vrabel joining the club, either as its next head coach or in an assistant role, have on the rest of the team’s coaching and personnel staffs?
At this point in time, any questions like these are merely hypotheticals. Trying to predict anything would just lead to pure speculation.
That being said, it would be no stretch of the imagination to claim that Vrabel would probably be near the very top of the list of replacement candidates should the Patriots and Belichick decide to go their separate ways after nearly a quarter century of working together.
He has the résumé. He has the experience. He has the status.
Whether he also will have the future of the Patriots franchise in his hands will be seen.
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