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The New England Patriots have officially hired former Super Bowl champion linebacker Mike Vrabel as their next head coach, becoming the first NFL team to fill a coaching vacancy during their offseason cycle, the team announced in a post shared on its X account Sunday (January 12) morning.
"He’s back! Patriots Hall of Famer Mike Vrabel returns to New England as our 16th head coach," the Patriots wrote.
Vrabel, who last served as a head coach for the Tennessee Titans in 2023, was reported to be "in negotiations" with the Patriots Sautrday (January 11) night. The former linebacker spent eight of the 14 years of his NFL playing career in New England, which included winning three Super Bowls.
Vrabel spent the past year as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns after being fired by the Titans last January, which was considered one of the most surprising coaching decisions of the past offseason.
Vrabel was the 2021 NFL Coach of the Year and led the Titans to a 54-45 record in six seasons, which included three consecutive playoff berths from 2019 to 2021, as well as an AFC Championship Game appearance in 2019 and the conference's best regular season record in 2021. Tennessee has, however, finished each of his past two seasons with losing records, including a 6-11 finish in 2023.
Vrabel also played linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1997-2000) and Kansas City Chiefs (2009-10) during his 14 NFL seasons. The retired linebacker began his coaching career as a linebackers coach at Ohio State in 2011 before being promoted to defensive line coach in 2012.
Vrabel was later hired by the Houston Texans as a linebackers coach in 2014 and promoted to defensive coordinator in 2017 before accepting the Titans' head coaching position.