Northeast Ohio’s own Mike Vrabel leaves the Browns to take over his former team the New England Patriots

The New England Patriots have been bottom feeders in the NFL, but that was in the 1970s. Since then the franchise put together a string of Super Bowl wins under Bill Belichick, the winning became contagious. After Belichick, the Patriots hired their head coach in waiting Jerod Mayo. Well, that lasted only one season as New England went 4-13-0 and at one time had the first overall draft pick in hand.

Mayo was fired, and the search began. On Sunday, the Patriots announced that they had hired Mike Vrabel as their new head coach. He was signed to a multi-year deal.

For Vrabel, he is coming back to where he had his most success in the NFL.

Mike Vrabel hired by Patriots as new head coach in homecoming https://t.co/VJaQDhReKt pic.twitter.com/w81oz4MHWU

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) January 12, 2025

The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted the talented linebacker in the third round of the 1997 NFL draft out of Ohio State where he was named the Big-10 Defensive Player of the Year two consecutive seasons (1995-1996). He was named First Team All-Big 10 three times, First Team All-American (1995), and Consensus All-American (1996).

After four seasons, the Steelers allowed him to test the free agent waters where he signed with the Patriots for the 2001 season. There, he cemented an already talented defense and won three Super Bowls.

In Super Bowl 38, he caught a touchdown pass making him the second defensive player to ever score an offensive touchdown in the big game behind Refrigerator Perry. His tenure in New England lasted eight seasons before being traded to the Kansas City Chiefs along with QB Matt Cassel. Vrabel played two more seasons before his retirement from the game.

From there he spent three seasons as the LB coach and later the DL coach with Ohio State. The Houston Texans grabbed him in 2014 as their LB coach which parlayed into the DC job in 2017.

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

The Tennessee Titans then hired him as their head coach beginning in 2018. He got the call while eating dinner at Limoncello’s Italian restaurant in Boston’s North End. His first season as an NFL head coach the Titans went a respectable 9-7-0. The following season they went to the playoffs winning two post-season matches before losing 35-24 in the AFC Championship Game to the Chiefs.

In the following two seasons, Tennessee won their division but were beaten in the first round of the playoffs. For the 2021 season, Vrabel was named the NFL Coach of the Year after posting a 12-5-0 record.

It unraveled from there as the Titans went 7-10-0 and 6-11-0 the next two years. Vrabel was then fired. The Cleveland Browns hired him as a consultant for the 2024 season where the Akron, Ohio native returned home for a season.

Vrabel was the hottest coaching prospect on the market. It was thought that the Browns might hire him after Cleveland lost 14 games, but head coach Kevin Stefanski was retained and Vrabel’s contract expired on December 30 making him available to be interviewed. His head coaching record is 54-45 but began his head coaching stint with four consecutive winning seasons.

He was interviewed for the vacant New York Jets job on January 3 before being hired by New England. Mayo was fired a few days after Vrabel’s interest in the Jets. Next, the Chicago Bears interviewed him.

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

His hiring with the Patriots seems to be a good fit. They are a young team with a litany of holes that can be molded into whatever the defensive-minded Vrabel prefers.

The Patriots are hoping that bringing Vrabel back into the fold will bring back the glory years he helped build.