Report: Mike Vrabel is Using the Jets as Leverage but Really Wants to Coach the Patriots
As we head into the final 12 hours of the worst Patriots season since Dick MacPherson was coach and George Bush was President - George HW Bush - the world will just have to forgive Pats fans if we're in a pathetic, desperate search for something to believe in. Or don't. Life was a lot better when we were despised instead of pitied.
Still, no one should blame us for feeling bereft of hope. We're staring into the abyss of six seasons without a postseason victory. And aside from the promise of Drake Maye and Christian Gonzalez, there's not a single positive you can point to and say "There's the person, place or thing that's going to get us our playoff win." All we have besides to young, emerging superstars are intangibles. A ton of cap space. And probably the first No. 1 overall pick since Drew Bledsoe in 1993. And given that at the moment, the guy who'll decide how to turn all those assets into a postseason contender is the same one who built this 3-13 team:
... Pats fans are going to need more to go on before they start renewing season tickets and planning road trips.
The last time New England was in this situation, that hope came in the form of a pudgy Coach of the Year and world class wiseass, Bill Parcells. This year, it might come in the form of a physically fit Coach of the Year and world class wiseass:
And while Mike Vrabel's interest in the job is still only in the rumor stage, it's a rumor that has been around for weeks and refuses to go away. Despite the fact he's also been linked to Ohio State, the Bears, Raiders and Jets, every credible report is that the New England job is his first choice. The fact it's currently occupied, notwithstanding. The latest report confirms it:
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Source - Mike Vrabel is a popular name among Jets fans as the team's next head coach, but few in the league believe it will happen. The feeling is that Vrabel will use the Jets as leverage to get the job he wants at the salary he wants. Word is that the Las Vegas Raiders will make run at Vrabel, but people don't believe he wants that job either. Vrabel wants the New England Patriots job, people around him tell me, but Robert Kraft seems intent on bringing back Jerod Mayo - at least at the present time.
Let's take a beat here to get our legs back under us after the emotional Space Mountain that was that final sentence. Holy smokes, did that take some twists and turns in the dark before it landed on some hope for changes around here.
Be that as it may, the least surprising part of this report is where he's only faking being interested in the Jets job. I won't excerpt the section where the article talks about how Woody Johnson's son Brick, and I laugh every time I hear his name:
… would feed his dad information he found online, who would then relate it to GM Joe Douglas. Even when Brick (giggle) was 14 years old. No one with any other option would work for that family:
Vrabel would sooner spend 2025 driving Ubers than take the Jets job. But he wants the Patriots. There's simply too much smoke for there not to be a raging fire of interest here.
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As far as Mr. Kraft wanting to stick by Mayo, it's understandable. No one wants to fire someone they've been interested in hiring for five years or more. There's an emotional connection there. A long-standing relationship. A mutual respect. As well as an element of fairness. Mayo was given the nearly impossible task of replacing the Irreplaceable Man. And handed the worst roster in the league. The Krafts saw future greatness in him, and no doubt still do. So on a human level, we can all understand the reluctance to cut him loose after just one season.
But this isn't about emotional connections, relationships, respect or human levels of anything. This is the NF frigging L. When you get the chance to hire a successful coach with a track record of winning and who actually wants the job, all the feelings no longer apply. You make this move and don't look back. It worked in 1993:
… and 32 years later, Vrabel is the best, most Parcellian hope we have going forward. All I want for early 2025 is for this to happen.