Patriots Fire Head Coach Jerod Mayo: Will Mike Vrabel Be The Next Head Coach?

When Bill Belichick was fired last January, it was widely assumed that Mike Vrabel would be the choice to take over as the head coach of the New England Patriots. While they went with one of their former players, it was Jerod Mayo instead of Vrabel that they wound up hiring. But Mayo lasted just one season at the helm of the once proud franchise, and Robert Kraft and company will be on the search for their next leader.

Mayo Out; Could Patriots Look To Mike Vrabel?

Vrabel will again, assumedly, be the front-runner to land the job. He spent 8 of his 14 NFL seasons playing linebacker in New England, winning three Super Bowls with the Patriots and making the only All-Pro appearance of his career. After retiring, he joined the coaching ranks. Vrabel moved up from college assistant to a defensive coordinator in the NFL, eventually landing the head coaching job with the Tennessee Titans in 2018.

He was rather successful in his first lead job. Mike Vrabel led the Titans to three playoff appearances in his six years at the helm, advancing as far as the AFC Championship in his best season. He posted a 54-45 record in 99 games played, but Tennessee decided to go a different direction and let him go last off-season.

Patriots fired HC Jerod Mayo, league sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/rZUOOoKmVC

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 5, 2025

That is why it was curious that Vrabel didn’t land one of the open jobs in 2024. It seemed as though he would be a perfect match for the gig in New England. He instead hired as a “coaching and personnel consultant” for the Browns, but will be interviewing for the head coaching spots that will be opening up this year.

Vrabel may have dropped a foreshadowing hint in the hours before Mayo was fired. Before Sunday’s games around the NFL, he changed his Twitter/X avatar, which now features a photo of him and Teddy Bruschi in their playing days with the Patriots.