It seems that Robert Kraft got lucky
The Patriots owner probably should have hired Mike Vrabel a year ago, when the former Titans coach was unexpectedly available. But he had already made his bad contractual promise to Jerod Mayo that got him stuck.
All this should have had more lasting consequences. Vrabel probably should have been taken by someone else last year. But in a strange cycle, he wasn’t hired, making him available this time. Maybe yes Vrabel had he been employed elsewhere, Kraft would have been persuaded to stay with Mayo for another year.
But Vrabel’s availability gave Kraft the ultimate mulligan, one that will allow New England’s owner to do just that will introduce the former Patriots quarterback as its new head coach on Monday.
Kraft could acknowledge Mayo’s recruiting failure without having to gamble on another first-year head coach, a college coach or someone else’s firing. But perhaps most importantly for Kraft, he didn’t have to hire someone he didn’t know.
The fact that Vrabel was available made the best choice easy. Kraft hasn’t done an actual coaching search since 1997, when it hired Pete Carroll. The two subsequent hires, Bill Belichick in 2000 and Jerod Mayo last year, were both examples of Kraft selecting people he already knew, liked and trusted.
It had worked so well with Belichick that it made Kraft confident enough to choose Mayo.
with VrabelKraft could hire a candidate who was widely considered one of, if not the best candidate available this off season. At the same time, he’s picking someone who knows how to make the Patriots and Kraft feel appropriately important. A large percentage of the fan base will love that Vrabel is a trigger for fond memories, while the Krafts can appreciate that he played for Belichick but isn’t part of the estranged coach’s inner circle.
When Vrabel was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2023, the highest honor Kraft and the franchise can bestow, Vrabel addressed the fans at Gillette Stadium.
“I don’t want you to take this organization for granted,” Vrabel said. “I’ve been to a lot of places, this is a special place with great leadership, great fans, great management and a great coach. Enjoy it, it’s not like that everywhere.”
Foxborough, MA – October 22: Mike Vrabel speaks during his induction into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame. The Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills 29-25. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)Boston Globe via Getty Images
Vrabel, intentionally or not, likely planted a seed in Kraft’s mind. He still had the love and devotion to the franchise that the Patriots owner craves. It seems to have had the opposite effect in Tennessee.
“This was Amy Adams Strunk making the decision based on a lot of things,” NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport said after Vrabel was fired. “Including what happened when he went to New England for the Hall of Fame, including not dispelling the rumors, inside, that he was going to coach the Patriots. There was a lot there.”
The rumors were premature. There’s no way Vrabel has seen far enough into the future to establish a long game plan. There were too many potential roadblocks.
- The 2023 Patriots might have finished strong enough to save Bill Belichick’s job.
- The Titans could have opted to keep him instead of Ran Cathorn, the GM he was at odds with (who they ended up firing this year).
- Someone else could have hired Vrabel last year.
But none of those things happened to allow Robert Kraft to reverse a mistake and perhaps fix his franchise and legacy in one fell swoop.
keep going Matt Vautour, MassLive sports columnist on Twitter at @MattVautour424.
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