Patriots insider names major concern about HC Mike Vrabel

New England Patriots fans are understandably excited that Patriots Hall of Famer and former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel became New England's new head coach in January. 

However, Patriots insider Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal noted during Tuesday's edition of the "All 32 NFL Podcast" that there is one significant concern regarding Vrabel serving as the main man for a franchise in 2025. 

"His offensive vision in Tennessee wasn’t awesome," Giardi said about Vrabel, as shared by Adam London of NESN. "They never were that sort of cutting-edge offense. They never pushed it a ton. Obviously, when you have a quarterback like Drake Maye, there’s a high ceiling here. …I’m just curious when push comes to shove and there are hard times — there always are during the course of the season — how that staff comes together and deals with the adversity."

Vrabel went 54-45 as head coach of the Titans, guided the club to one conference championship game appearance and became a one-time Associated Press Coach of the Year Award winner during his Tennessee tenure that ran from 2018-23. With that said, Evan Lazar of the Patriots' website mentioned on Jan. 21 that some could be worried "that the Patriots will be a conservative, run-first offense in the Vrabel era" considering how Vrabel heavily leaned on star running back Derrick Henry while with the Titans. 

Per ESPN stats, the Titans ended the 2023 season ranked 28th in the NFL with an average of 289.0 yards per game and tied for 27th with an average of 17.9 points scored per contest. Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk parted ways with Vrabel in January 2024. 

Giardi's take serves as a reminder that Vrabel's biggest move of the offseason may be bringing longtime New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels back to the organization to serve as Maye's new OC. It also shouldn't be forgotten that Patriots owner Robert Kraft hired Vrabel after New England was allegedly responsible for a "soft" team during the 2024 season. 

"He is the absolute right guy for this organization at this time," Giardi added about Vrabel. "There’s no question. They needed someone who had been there and done that before. Someone familiar with the market. Someone with past head-coaching experience and success. I like that he is old school but in a new-school way." 

Former Patriots players routinely credit McDaniels for helping Tom Brady become arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history. The expectation is that Vrabel will hand the keys to the offense over to McDaniels.