Was Mike Vrabel the chosen one all along? Well, it could be because the Patriots didn’t take much time moving on from their one-and-done head coach, Jerod Mayo. His disastrous reign with the Pats winning just 4 out of their 17 games forced Robert Kraft to pull the plug on his Bill Belichick successor. But we all know how that turned out to be, as the Patriots looked soulless for the second season running.

So, to get them back on track, Kraft has yet again decided to bring in another linebacker. And this time, Vrabel’s former teammate, Tedy Bruschi, calls it the right appointment. On ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown,” Bruschi expressed how he just couldn’t be happier seeing Vrabel being chosen as the Patriots’ next coach: “He’s the right man for the job … it’s been bad for the last two years with the New England Patriots organization.” See, Bruschi didn’t just call Vrabel the right pick just because he used to be his teammate at one time.

He believes Vrabel isn’t going to take this opportunity for granted while throwing shade at Mayo’s failed collaboration: “When they hired Jerod [Mayo], at the press conference, a big word that was used was ‘collaboration.’ Everybody’s input and all that stuff; well, I don’t know how much it is that any more. And I think that’s a good thing.” Now, we all know how that collaboration worked out for everyone in New England. As Mayo failed to deliver any positive in his first coaching gig with the Patriots.

Bruschi thinks Vrabel is the man who will steer the Pats in the right direction, “Because Vrabel isn’t going to joke around, Vrabel is going to tighten the screws.” And you know what? Bruschi isn’t the only man who possesses the same thoughts about Vrabel’s coaching. Yet another former Pat, Logan Ryan, who played under Vrabel in Tennessee, echoes Bruschi’s sentiments, “A Mike Vrabel culture is tons of accountability and natural leadership. It’s kind of what that Patriots culture was from the players’ perspective in the locker room, which is holding each other accountable.” 

Given Vrabel’s prior experience as an NFL’s head coach, him garnering support just hours after being named the head coach in Foxborough isn’t surprising.

Can Mike Vrabel retrace his success with the Titans in New England?

One of the things that backfired on the face of Robert Kraft was that Jerod Mayo had no prior head coaching experience before being handed the keys. Yeah, we know he was a linebackers coach for 4 four seasons. However, the role of a head coach is completely different. And Vrabel brings that experience to Foxborough, which the Patriots didn’t get out of Mayo. His six seasons in Music City saw Vrabel lead the Titans to a 54-45 record. Out of those six seasons, his first four saw the Titans end their regular season with a winning record.

Besides just winning in Tennessee, Vrabel also led the Titans to 3 postseason tickets. And his best one came in 2021 when the Titans qualified as the AFC’s No.1 seed. However, it didn’t end too well for the 3-time Super Bowl Champion. The Titans ended up losing to the eventual Super Bowl LIV Champions, the Chiefs, 35-24. While the Titans didn’t get their hands on the ultimate prize, Vrabel was rewarded for the work he did in 2021.

The former Patriots LB was named the AP Coach of the Year, with things going downhill thereafter. His Titans went on to miss out on the playoffs for two consecutive seasons. And that proved to be the final nail in the coffin of Vrabel’s tenure in Tennessee. So here’s the thing with him getting another chance as a head coach, that too in his former club. Will Vrabel manage to take the Pats back to their glory days? Well, it’s still too early to judge any of it. But all we can say is that expectations will be high. And Vrabel needs to prove that he isn’t the second coming of Jerod Mayo.