Rather than jumping right back into the fold after surprisingly being relieved of his duties by the Tennessee Titans last January, Mike Vrabel instead spent the 2024 season as a consultant with the Cleveland Browns. A lackluster 2024 campaign, trending toward a 3-14 finish, won't diminish interest in Vrabel once the NFL coaching carousel starts running in just a few days. In fact, Vrabel appears to be by far the most intriguing candidate of this head coaching cycle.

There's certainly a lot to unpack here, so let's start with what we know:

Right now, we know that the Chicago Bears, New York Jets and New Orleans Saints will be on the hunt for a new head coach in 2025. Darren Rizzi is expected to get a look at remaining the man in charge in New Orleans, but that situation isn't decided by any means. Based on the criteria that James Palmer laid out, it sounds like Chicago would be the most likely situation that Vrabel would want to involve himself in, if only because the Bears have their franchise quarterback in Caleb Williams. 

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Although we know nothing for certain just yet, it's a possibility that by Monday afternoon the Raiders, Giants, Patriots, Cowboys, and Jaguars could all be in the market for a new head coach. Vrabel has ties to both New England and Las Vegas, as he was a former Patriots teammate of Tom Brady, who is now a part owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and will reportedly be more involved in football decisions moving forward.

Disappointing finishes in the 2024 season for the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts have created some uncertainty that it's a foregone conclusion that Jonathan Gannon and Shane Steichen will return in 2025. Even though there's been no indication that Cincinnati could be weighing a change, if the Bengals end up missing out on the postseason, could it cost Zac Taylor his job? And who knows how the results of the Playoffs will impact the likes of Sean McDermott in Buffalo or Nick Sirianni in Philly.

And then there is the possibility that Mike Vrabel, a native Ohioan and former Ohio State Buckeye, could end up being the Mark Zuckerberg to Kevin Stefanski's Eduardo Saverin, cutting Stefanski out of the picture in Cleveland and taking over in a city in which he's already very popular.