New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel will be returning to Nissan Stadium as a head coach on the opposing side.
This will be Vrabel’s first return since being fired by the Tennessee Titans. He was was fired by the Titans in January 2024 after six seasons with the franchise. Vrabel then spent the 2024 season with the Cleveland Browns as a coaching and personnel consultant on Kevin Stefanski’s staff before he was hired by the Patriots as their head coach in Jan., 2025.
Vrabel went 54-45 with three playoff appearances in six seasons with the Titans from 2018 to ’23. His 54 wins are the third most in Tennessee history.
The Titans host the Pats and Vrabal on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST for a Week 7 matchup.
At the Wednesday press conference, quarterback Drake Maye said the Patriots roster is taking a page from Vrabel’s book in remaining focused on the task at hand rather than the opponent.
“The way Coach Vrabel handles [his past with Tennessee] kind of leads into how we’ll handle it,” Maye said of playing against his coach’s former team. “I think he’s focused about this team and not worried about going back to a place he coached for a long time … he’s kind of treating it like it’s not a big deal which has bled into us. We’re treating it like another week, another opponent and going to treat it the same … it’s a challenge for us to go keep proving it week in and week out. That’s been our main focus.”
This latest matchup for the Patriots comes after the Buffalo Bills handed the Patriots the top spot in the AFC East after losing 24-14 to the Atlanta Falcons.
The last time the Pats had a hold on first place was late Nov., 2021 after starting out 2-4, the Patriots ripped off seven straight wins from before hitting their bye week.
The Patriots have won three straight with wins over Carolina, Buffalo and New Orleans and are the the only team in 2025 that has not surrendered 50 yards to a running back through the first six games in 2025 — which is also the first time this has occurred in program history.
Maye has also been a key contributor for the Patriots this year. Against the New Orleans Saints in Week 6, the Patriots’ QB went 18 of 26 on passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions.
He will be entering play against Vrabel’s former team after joining Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott and Dan Marino as the only signal callers who had five consecutive 200+ yard games and who were also at the ripe old age of 23 or younger.
