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Patriots Announce Mike Vrabel News on Thursday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Hugh Green | Last updated Jan 29, 2026 12:52 PM ET

The New England Patriots have had a season to remember in 2025. After losing two of their first three games of the year to the Las Vegas Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers, the Patriots, under head coach Mike Vrabel, finished the regular season with only one loss in their final 14 contests. This included a 10-game winning streak and helped New England finish with a 14-3 record.

The Patriots entered the NFL playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the conference after winning the AFC title for the first time since 2019.

New England has since gotten through the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos to claim an AFC Championship and advance to Super Bowl LX.

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye holds the AFC Championship trophy after beating the Denver Broncos.Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

This will be the Patriots' first appearance in the Super Bowl since the 2018 season. It will also be the first time since the 1996 season that New England is playing for a title with a coach other than Bill Belichick.

The 50-year-old is in his first year as the Patriots' coach after spending six seasons with the Tennessee Titans. He has done an unbelievable job turning around a franchise that had three consecutive losing seasons before he took over.

On Thursday, in recognition of Vrabel's impressive coaching this season, the Patriots announced on social media that Vrabel was named The Sporting News Coach of the Year.

"The @sportingnews Coach of the Year, Mike Vrabel ," the caption read.

The @sportingnews Coach of the Year, Mike Vrabel pic.twitter.com/luP4ZaHpvT
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 29, 2026

This is the second time in Vrabel's coaching career that he has been given this honor by The Sporting News. He also won the award for the 2021 season after he led the Titans to a 12-5 record.

While this is a special honor for Vrabel, he and the rest of the Patriots are focused on the task at hand, which is winning a ring. Super Bowl LX between New England and the Seattle Seahawks will kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 8 on NBC and Peacock.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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