A large portion of the New England Patriots fandom is thrilled to welcome back Mike Vrabel. The team’s new head coach won three Super Bowls and enjoyed the best years of his career with the Foxborough-based franchise.

The Patriots turned to Vrabel after their quick coaching search wrapped up just seven days after the team fired Jerod Mayo.

And who could forget Alex Van Pelt and Co, who hardly proved to be an upgrade despite receiving the best quarterback play the Patriots had seen in at least three years, maybe five? Now generally, running to your past for answers to present-day problems is a good way to conflate short-term comfort for long-term solutions.

Vrabel made his own path by first serving as a linebackers coach for Ohio State in 2011. He also worked as a defensive line coach for that program in 2012 and 2013 before taking his talents to to NFL, where he worked under Bill O’Brien with the Texans as the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator.

Vrabel has said he doesn’t have a timeline for the coordinator search, though interviews will likely start in the coming week.

Chip Kelly has been preparing his high-powered Ohio State offense to face Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship, and the work he has done with the Buckeyes could lead to interest from at least one NFL team.

The Patriots haven't announced if DeMarcus Covington is staying, but it appears they're moving on at defensive coordinator. The post Who people around NFL reportedly think Mike Vrabel’s ‘ideal’ defensive coordinator is for Patriots appeared first on Boston.

Vrabel said on sports radio WEEI that he has a "long list" and confirmed it includes former Las Vegas Raiders head coach and Patriots coordinator Josh McDaniels, who still lives in the region and last worked with the Patriots in 2021 when he worked wonders with then-rookie Mac Jones.

After a brief and failed attempt to ignite a new era of New England Patriots dominance after the firing of legendary, six-time Super Bowl winning coach Bill Belichick — an attempt that ended with a dismal 4-13 record in 2024 and the firing of Belichick’s replacement,

The New England Patriots have a new head coach in Mike Vrabel, and now he needs to find an offensive coordinator to continue the development of quarterback Drake Maye

NFL fans might remember when Deshaun Watson met Patrick Mahomes in the divisional round in the 2020 playoffs. That matchup, like Saturday's, was at Arrowhead, with the Chiefs coming off a bye and Houston coming off a home win. The Texans had just come back to defeat Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in an overtime thriller in the wild-card round.