An interesting trade proposal has the Patriots replacing head coach Bill Belichick with one of his former players from New England’s first dynasty.
With the Patriots headed for a third straight losing and non-playoff season, speculation is growing that owner Robert Kraft will move on from Belichick. Many expect well-respected linebackers coach Jerod Mayo to succeed Belichick as the Patriots’ HC.
But Randy Mueller of The Athletic proposed a fascinating scenario that has the Patriots acquiring Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel via trade. The latter is in his sixth season as Titans head coach, and he played for the Patriots from 2001 to ’08:
“Times have changed, structure is important, and I 100 percent believe coaching and personnel acquisition and management is a two-man job in 2023, so a GM is needed. But the fit is important, too. We all know Vrabel is a former linebacker with an emotional side and a big personality. He will and probably should take up most of the oxygen in the room. The GM paired with him must be one with a low ego whose experience speaks for itself. The respect factor will be mutual, and there will be very little learning curve…
If I were Kraft, I’d reach out owner to owner and offer a 2024 second-round pick, as it will be a high one. I would not touch a pick in the top 10 because I’m not willing to give up the farm, and if I were the Titans I might counter to acquire an additional pick in a subsequent year.”
Vrabel was a key member of the Patriots’ 2001, 2003 and 2004 Super Bowl championship-winning teams. The one-time Pro Bowler was on the Houston Texans’ staff from 2014 to 2017 before Tennessee hired him as their new head coach in 2018.
Vrabel has gone 51-40-0 as Titans’ head coach. He led them to four straight winning seasons from 2018 to 2021, highlighted by a trip to the 2019 AFC Championship Game as the conference’s No. 6 seed.
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Tennessee also won back-to-back AFC South division titles in 2020 and 2021, finishing as the top conference’s seed in the latter year. After finishing 7-10 a year ago, the Titans have again struggled to find an identity in a retooling season, and they sit 3-6 heading into Week 11 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
