FOXBORO -- The connection is obvious. Mike Vrabel was a three-time Super Bowl champion as a member of the Patriots, and he was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 2023.
Now that the Patriots are looking for a new head coach, and now that Vrabel is available, league sources are anticipating that Vrabel's old team will make a hard push to bring him back.
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The Patriots will have to satisfy the Rooney Rule as they go through their process of interviewing and ultimately hiring a new sideline boss. But several NFL coaches and executives watching this situation from afar believe that the Patriots would not have moved on from Jerod Mayo without having an understanding that they would be given a real shot at hiring Vrabel.
The move for Vrabel to get out of his contract in Cleveland early to pursue head coaching interviews, and then to take an interview with the Jets last week before the end of the regular season, was seen by some as a "calculated" move on Vrabel's end to send a message to Robert Kraft.
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The perceived sentiment was this: If you want me, you might want to act quickly, or else I could end up coaching your rival.
Vrabel served as Tennessee Titans head coach from 2018-2023 and was a consultant in Cleveland last season. When he was inducted to the Patriots Hall of Fame, still as head coach of the Titans, he was glowing in his remarks about the organization in New England.
“I don’t want you to take this organization for granted," Vrabel told fans. "I’ve been a lot of places, this is a special place with great leadership, great fans, great direction, and great coaching. Enjoy it; it’s not like this everywhere."
Vrabel soon could find out exactly what it's like in a new role in New England -- as Patriots head coach -- if the search process in Foxboro plays out the way many in the league believe it will.
