SPORTSCENTER 5 POWERED BY XFINITY MOBILE. HI, EVERYBODY. AS EXPECTED, THE PATRIOTS HAVE HIRED MIKE VRABEL TO BE THEIR NEXT HEAD COACH. THE PATRIOTS MAKING THAT NEWS OFFICIAL JUST AFTER 1030 THIS MORNING. THE 49 YEAR OLD VRABEL WAS CONSIDERED THE FRONT RUNNER FROM THE BEGINNING, ACTUALLY. HE WAS CONSIDERED THE FRONTRUNNER EVEN WHILE JEROD MAYO WAS STILL THE HEAD COACH OF THE PATRIOTS. IF WE’RE BEING HONEST, ESPECIALLY AFTER THAT LOSS TO THE CHARGERS, PATRIOTS WILL HOLD A PRESS CONFERENCE AT NOON TOMORROW TO FORMALLY INTRODUCE VRABEL AS THE NEW HEAD COACH. LET’S GO DEEPER INSIDE VRABEL’S RESUME. FIRST IS THE PLAYER. 14 YEAR NFL LINEBACKER STARTED WITH THE STEELERS. THEN, OF COURSE, THE PATRIOTS AND THE CHIEFS. PLAYED WITH THE PATS FROM 2001 TO 2008. WAS A MEMBER OF THREE SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP WINNING TEAMS. MADE IT TO ONE PRO BOWL. WAS INDUCTED INTO THE PATRIOTS HALL OF FAME IN 2023. HIS COACHING RESUME ALSO IMPRESSIVE. HE WAS A LINEBACKERS THEN DEFENSIVE LINE COACH AT OHIO STATE, HIS ALMA MATER. THEN HE COACHED LINEBACKERS FOR THREE YEARS WITH THE HOUSTON TEXANS BEFORE BECOMING THEIR DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR IN 2018. HE WAS HIRED AS THE HEAD COACH OF THE TITANS. HE WENT 54 AND 45 IN HIS SIX YEARS THERE. IT WAS NAMED THE 2021 AP COACH OF THE YEAR. HE WAS TWO AND THREE IN THE PLAYOFFS. ONE OF THOSE POSTSEASON WINS. TOM BRADY’S LAST GAME WITH THE PATRIOTS. HERE’S HIS FORMER TEAMMATE MATT CHATHAM. THERE IS SOMETHING UNIQUE TO MIKE AND THAT HE’S PROVEN IT. AND HE’S REALLY AN ACCOUNTABLE GUY BOTH PERSONALLY AND FOR THOSE THAT PLAY WITH HIM. HE IS A PLAYER FRIENDLY GUY, BUT SOMEONE WHO’S VERY DEMANDING, SOMEONE THAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE DRAWN TO. HE’S AN INCREDIBLE TACTICIAN IN GAME, AND I THINK THAT’S A BIG FACTOR. AND HIS EXPERIENCE LEVEL AND SORT OF BREADTH OF EXPERIENCE IS IS WIDE AND UNIQUE TO REALLY A LOT OF PEOPLE ANYWHERE AROUND THE NFL. SO I THINK THEY REALLY HIT A HOME RUN WITH THIS ONE. MATT CHATHAM WON THREE SUPER BOWLS WITH MIKE. HE SHOULD KNOW WHAT TYPE OF INPUT WHEN IT COMES TO PLAYER PERSONNEL. WILL MIKE VRABEL HAVE? THERE ARE REPORTS THAT HE’S BRINGING IN RYAN COWDEN TO WORK IN THE PATRIOTS FRONT OFFICE. COWDEN SPENT THE LAST TWO SEASONS IN NEW YORK WITH THE GIANTS AS AN ADVISOR TO THE GENERAL MANAGER. VRABEL KNOWS COWDEN FROM THEIR DAYS WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE TENNESSEE TITANS. COWDEN WAS ACTUALL
Former New England Patriots teammates of Mike Vrabel are happy that the team Hall of Famer will be returning to Foxborough as coach. Vrabel, a linebacker, joined the Patriots as a free agent in 2001 and stayed with the team through 2008.He may have played defense, but fans also remember his touchdown catches in big moments. Vrabel was a part of the Super Bowl 36, 38 and 39 teams.Now, he has the chance to add to that legacy, something former teammate Matt Chatham says is a win for everyone.”I think, in any coaching cycle, if Mike were available last year, any of these years, he’s going to be the home run hit,” said Chatham, who played linebacker for New England from 2000 to 2005. “He’s incredibly competitive. That’s kind of one of those phrases you always hear about Tom Brady, that he just wants to win in a game of pool or darts or cards or whatever it may be. Mike’s very much that same way. But with every player who’s the, air quotes, smart player on the team, Mike was always that.””I’m excited, Vrabes is excited,” Tedy Bruschi, another former Patriots linebacker from 1996 to 2008, said on ESPN. “I think that he is the right man for the job, of course. He’s a good friend of mine.”Vrabel coached at Ohio State and for the Houston Texans before becoming the head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2018. He led the Titans to four consecutive winning seasons but was fired last year after the team finished two consecutive losing seasons. Vrabel spent the last NFL season as a coaching and personnel consultant for the Cleveland Browns.Now, he will be the 16th head coach in Patriots franchise history. “He’s really an accountable guy, both personally and for those who play with him. He is a player-friendly guy but someone who is very demanding. Someone that other people are drawn to,” said Chatham. “He’s an incredible tactician in-game, and I think that’s a big factor. His experience level and his breadth of experience is wide and unique.””Vrabel isn’t going to joke around. Vrabel is going to tighten the screws,” Bruschi said on ESPN. “In my opinion, there are some people in the front office who need to be told, ‘You don’t know what you’re doing, and you need to take a step back,’ because someone is coming into that organization now who has conviction. That will let you collaborate, he’ll work with people, sure he’ll work with you, but I’m telling you, this guy’s smarter than you are.”
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. —Former New England Patriots teammates of Mike Vrabel are happy that the team Hall of Famer will be returning to Foxborough as coach.
Vrabel, a linebacker, joined the Patriots as a free agent in 2001 and stayed with the team through 2008.
He may have played defense, but fans also remember his touchdown catches in big moments. Vrabel was a part of the Super Bowl 36, 38 and 39 teams.
Now, he has the chance to add to that legacy, something former teammate Matt Chatham says is a win for everyone.
“I think, in any coaching cycle, if Mike were available last year, any of these years, he’s going to be the home run hit,” said Chatham, who played linebacker for New England from 2000 to 2005. “He’s incredibly competitive. That’s kind of one of those phrases you always hear about Tom Brady, that he just wants to win in a game of pool or darts or cards or whatever it may be. Mike’s very much that same way. But with every player who’s the, air quotes, smart player on the team, Mike was always that.”
“I’m excited, Vrabes is excited,” Tedy Bruschi, another former Patriots linebacker from 1996 to 2008, said on ESPN. “I think that he is the right man for the job, of course. He’s a good friend of mine.”
Vrabel coached at Ohio State and for the Houston Texans before becoming the head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2018. He led the Titans to four consecutive winning seasons but was fired last year after the team finished two consecutive losing seasons.
Vrabel spent the last NFL season as a coaching and personnel consultant for the Cleveland Browns.
Now, he will be the 16th head coach in Patriots franchise history.
“He’s really an accountable guy, both personally and for those who play with him. He is a player-friendly guy but someone who is very demanding. Someone that other people are drawn to,” said Chatham. “He’s an incredible tactician in-game, and I think that’s a big factor. His experience level and his breadth of experience is wide and unique.”
“Vrabel isn’t going to joke around. Vrabel is going to tighten the screws,” Bruschi said on ESPN. “In my opinion, there are some people in the front office who need to be told, ‘You don’t know what you’re doing, and you need to take a step back,’ because someone is coming into that organization now who has conviction. That will let you collaborate, he’ll work with people, sure he’ll work with you, but I’m telling you, this guy’s smarter than you are.”
