Mike Vrabel was once thought to be a head coaching candidate for the New England Patriots. However, a new report suggests that he was not appealing enough for the organization. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer explained why on Monday in a column.
Vrabel would undoubtedly have been the safer hire in comparison to first-year coach Jerod Mayo. Vrabel has spent the last six seasons as head coach of the Tennessee Titans. He compiled a 56-48 record while with the organization.
Per Breer, the decision for the Patriots passing on Vrabel goes all the way back to the first time owner Robert Kraft passed on hiring Bill Belichick, who was one of Bill Parcells’ assistants with the Patriots in 1996. He saw qualities that he really liked with Belichick early on, including his “command over the salary cap and team building”.
Breer wrote:
The problem at the time was that things ran so hot with Parcells that Kraft saw hiring one of his right-hand men as impractical at the time. He’s told people since he immediately regretted not following his instincts on that one and made up for it three years later by hiring Belichick. And, sure, it sounds a little hokey, but this is a case of Kraft following what’s in his gut, the way he did in 2000, and the way he wishes he had in 1997.
Vrabel made a name for himself with the Patriots organization from 2001-2008. He was a three-time Super Bowl champion and was named to the New England Patriots’ Hall of Fame last October.
Will this decision be one the Patriots regret, or will Mayo provide the organization with stability for years to come?
