NASHVILLE – Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel has landed a new head coaching job. Vrabel has agreed to become the next coach of the New England Patriots after being fired by Tennessee after the 2023 season. 

Vrabel returns to the franchise he once played eight seasons for (2001-2007) and inducted him into the Hall of Fame. It was the most obvious match for any head coach candidate this offseason. 

Vrabel's return to New England also presents him with a real opportunity to prove himself as a head coach that he never got in Tennessee.

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Vrabel's Inherited Roster

When the Titans hired Vrabel in 2018, he inherited a 9-7 roster that had just won a playoff game the year prior. Derrick Henry, Kevin Byard, Taylor Lewan, Ben Jones and a handful of other key contributors to the 2018 team were already in place when Vrabel took over for Mike Mularkey.

Vrabel hit the ground running and had a lot of early success as a head coach. He led Tennessee to the AFC Championship Game in his second season. He was 41-24 through his first four seasons and he was named AP Coach of the Year in 2021.

But as the Titans roster began to feel the effects of Jon Robinson's draft misses, Tennessee quickly fell out of contention. It left a lot of people questioning whether Vrabel was getting the most out of his team or if he was simply the benefactor of being handed an extremely talented roster. 

Let’s see how good of a coach Mike Vrabel is when he takes over a 4-13 roster instead of a Divisional Playoff appearance roster

— Austin Stanley (@AustinStanley81) January 12, 2025

We know Vrabel can lead. Give him a good football team and he's going to bring the winning culture that you need in the locker room. But can Vrabel build an organization from the ground up? Can he hire the right assistants and hit in the draft with consistency?

The Patriots are coming off of a 4-13 record for the second straight season, They have been two of the most miserable years in franchise history. Drake Maye looks to be a promising young quarterback, but Vrabel is certainly not inheriting the same roster he did when he became the head coach of the Titans. Nowhere close. 

If he can turn things around quickly for the Pats, he'll not only prove Amy Adams Strunk and the Titans organization wrong for letting him go, he'll also make all of his doubters look foolish. Me personally, I won't bet against Mike Vrabel. 

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