Mike Vrabel Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Mike Vrabel wouldn't be front-runner to replace Bill Belichick

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 1/10/24

When the Tennessee Titans fired former head coach Mike Vrabel on Tuesday, it was all-but-presumed it was just a matter of time before he was announced as the next head coach of the New England Patriots.

Though he has been the reported front-runner for the Pats job – should it open up – for the better part of two months now, Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston believes Vrabel isn’t actually who owner Robert Kraft would favor as Bill Belichick’s possible successor.

“The things said in the offseason by Robert Kraft indicating that Jerod Mayo was the heir apparent, the things that he said with the letter to season-ticket holders in the press release saying that Mayo would be the successor (indicate that’s the direction they’re going),” Curran said . “…The fact that Mike Vrabel has cannon-balled into the coaching pool here, I don’t know if that would necessarily cause them to alter the course of what they’re planning to do. … And I believe that they will still stay on course with Jerod Mayo as the next head coach.”

Could @RobGronkowski see @jerod_mayo51 as the next head coach of the @Patriots? @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/XvfGdvhPwY
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) January 3, 2024

Mayo, who has served as the Patriots inside linebackers coach since 2019, has expressed his desire to be an NFL head coach one day. Kraft convinced him during the offseason to turn down multiple head-coaching interviews and sign an extension with the Patriots.

The 37-year-old told reporters his decision to stay came down to being around his family (which lives in the Boston area) and the opportunity to grow as a coach being greater with the Patriots than any other team because they “do it right.”

Belichick is still under contract as New England’s head, but multiple reports have indicated the team plans to cut ties with him The holdup appears to be trying to figure out how to handle the transition on the football operations side with Belichick also serving as New England’s general manager.

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