Ben Volin of the Boston Globe wrote a story this weekend about the New England Patriots trying to pull off an unlikely trade, not for a player, but for a head coach.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft reportedly has a top pick to replace Bill Belichick — and it’s not Jerod Mayo.
Kraft’s preferred Belichick replacement is current Tennessee Titans head coach and Patriots Hall of Famer Mike Vrabel, according to a recent report from The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin.
Volin’s full excerpt about Vrabel:
Two sources close to the Patriots have independently said the same thing: They believe Vrabel, currently the Titans’ coach, is the Krafts’ “home run” choice to succeed Belichick.
Vrabel was the 2021 NFL Coach of the Year, went to the playoffs in three of his first five seasons in Tennessee, and took the Titans to the 2020 AFC Championship game, which included a playoff win in Foxborough against Tom Brady. Vrabel has the cachet of being a former player, and has proven he can win big games. The report of Belichick’s contract conveniently came out the same day the Krafts feted Vrabel at Gillette Stadium, inviting the Titans coach to sit with them in the owners’ box for the Patriots-Bills game.
Vrabel got a new contract with the Titans in February 2022, but the Patriots perhaps have an opportunity to pry him loose and bring him “home” to Foxborough.
The problem for the Patriots, as stated above, is that Vrabel is still under contract in Tennessee beyond this year after inking an extension in 2022, which is why they would have to trade for him.
Volin points out that Kraft does have a history of trading for a head coach, something the Pats did in order to bring in Belichick back in the year 2000.
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Volin noted that Vrabel doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with Titans general manager Ran Carthon while adding the Patriots would need to trade at least a first-round pick to pry Vrabel from Tennessee, which is 3-5 this season.
Belichick’s job status will be the top Patriots storyline in the weeks and months ahead.
