Tedy Bruschi Knows Which Coaching Candidate Can 'Fix' Patriots

Originally posted on The Spun | By Kameron Duncan | Last updated Jan 11, 2025 12:07 PM ET

The NFL playoffs are set to begin on Saturday, but several teams around the league are working hard to find their next head coach. Several jobs are open around the NFL, including the New England Patriots' position.

The team fired Jerod Mayo after only one season, as they're still looking for the successor to Bill Belichick. The team has already tried to hire one former Patriots player, but another New England legend says they should consider employing that strategy a second time.

During Saturday's edition of "Postseason NFL Countdown" on ESPN , former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said he knows the perfect person for the job, because he played with them in New England.

Tedy Bruschi pressures Robert and Jonathan Kraft to "fix the organization" and hire Mike Vrabel. pic.twitter.com/UIDeWGSVl5
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 11, 2025

"I just have to say something about my former team," Bruschi began. "The New England Patriots have been an absolute mess the last couple of years in how they've handled things, and the only way for them to fix this is to hire Mike Vrabel."

Bruschi said that Vrabel's leadership style is exactly what New England needs as an organization as they try to find a new identity and build culture.

"I'm telling you right now - a coach who can come in there and not only knows how to lead men but knows how to lead football players, deal with that ownership, fix the organization. Robert and Jonathan Kraft, hire Mike Vrabel."

Many thought that Vrabel would be the Patriots' head coach this season, but the team elected to hire internally by promoting Mayo from his previous role as an assistant.

FOXBORO, MA - OCTOBER 22: Former New England Patriots player Mike Vrabel speaks during a New England Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony during halftime against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on October 22, 2023 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)Kathryn Riley/Getty Images

Vrabel spent a portion of this season with the Cleveland Browns as a consultant, but he is one of the most experienced coaching candidates on the market. He coached the Tennessee Titans for six seasons, leading them to the playoffs in three of those years.

In 2019 he took the Titans all the way to the AFC Championship game, defeating the Patriots in what turned out to be Tom Brady's final game in New England during that run.

There are few candidates who are as familiar with the Patriots' organization as Vrabel would be. He won three Super Bowls in New England as a player and is in the team's Hall of Fame.

We'll see if Robert Kraft takes one former player's advice to hire another former player as his next head coach.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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