When Mike Vrabel started his coaching career at Ohio State in 2011, he thought about one day returning to the New England Patriots. However, he knew that if he wanted that to happen, he first needed to leave Foxborough.
“I think it was important for me to go somewhere else, to start another coaching journey,” Vrabel said. “The opportunity at some point probably presented itself to be here coaching. But I feel like it was important for me to forge my own path somewhere else.”
He did exactly that, and now he’s back at the place where he had his most success on the field. This time, he is tasked with bringing the team back to its championship glory, which he first experienced as a player.
Vrabel was introduced as New England’s 16th head coach on Monday. This is the first step in team owner Robert Kraft’s plan to restore the six-time Super Bowl champion Patriots to contender status.
“If all those experiences led me back here at the right time, at the right opportunity, then that was going to be what was meant to be,” Vrabel said.
Vrabel’s hiring wraps up a quick search process after Jerod Mayo was let go last week. The search included interviews with former offensive coordinators Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton, and current Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Kraft said Vrabel’s vision impressed him.
“In the interview process Mike showed us that he had a deep understanding of our current team. And more importantly, he had a clear and focused strategy of how to get us back to a championship way,” Kraft said.
As a player who understands the “Patriot Way” built by Bill Belichick during his two-plus decades in New England, Vrabel said he has learned from many coaches, including John Cooper, Urban Meyer, Bill Cowher, Romeo Crennel, and Belichick, to create his own coaching approach.
Vrabel, 49, returns to New England with a coaching record of 56-48 from 2018 to 2023 with Tennessee, including a 2019 AFC Championship appearance.
He believes he has grown, especially after being let go by the Titans following the 2023 season.
Vrabel said his goal is to build a winning culture in New England, one focused on competitiveness and putting the team first.
“I want to galvanize our football team. I want to galvanize this building,” he said. He will begin this by building a coaching staff and roster that can improve on the 4-13 record from Mayo’s one season as head coach.
Vrabel said no decisions have been made yet and he’s excited to work with current vice president of player personnel, Eliot Wolf. Kraft confirmed that Wolf will stay on staff, but his role is yet to be decided.
When it comes to players, Vrabel said he wants to use the No. 4 pick in April’s NFL draft and more than $130 million in salary cap space to strengthen the protection around quarterback Drake Maye and to acquire players who can help control the game offensively.
“Everybody in my eyes is starting over and they will prove to us and to this team the impact that they’ll make,” Vrabel said.
Although much work is ahead, as Vrabel stood in the same room where he was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame 15 months ago, he said one thing was clear to him.
“In the end it was clear to me and my family and my soul that this is the place I wanted to be,” he said.
