Subscribe
Follow Us
The New England Patriots have had a rough 2024 campaign. New England finished the regular season with a record of 4-13 at the bottom of the AFC East divisional rankings. The team's poor record resulted in first-year head coach Jerod Mayo being fired after the final game of the regular season. Now the Patriots are on the hunt for a new head coach.
Patriots safety Logan Ryan seems enamored with the idea of hiring former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.
“I think he’s the best coach for New England. It’s a perfect fit,” Ryan told MassLive on Wednesday. “I thought they should have hired him last year. But I respected Kraft for keeping his word to (Jerod) Mayo. I don’t love the decision to let go Mayo, what more could he have done? But Kraft realized he had to get out of it, and this is his opportunity to get Vrabel.”
Vrabel's experience as a head coach is appealing to Ryan, and presumably other Patriots players.
“(Vrabel) knows what he’s doing. He knows how to win games and he’ll do what it takes to win games,” Ryan continued. “If New England wants a winner, they’ll go get Vrabel.”
Ryan even compared Vrabel to other great Patriots coaches, including the GOAT Bill Belichick.
“Players can feel if you’re not being yourself. I felt like players felt when Matt Patricia wasn’t being himself. Or Josh McDaniels wasn’t being himself. They didn’t like playing for those guys,” Ryan said. “So in my opinion, Vrabel has some similarities to Bill, but that’s who Vrabel was.”
Patriots should not ignore Ben Johnson despite pursuit of Mike Vrabel
Mike Vrabel is clearly the frontrunner for the Patriots head coaching job.
However, ESPN's Dan Graziano believes that New England should not ignore Lions OC Ben Johnson as a candidate.
“I wouldn't rule out Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for this job at all. I think a lot of what the Patriots are looking for is going to center on getting the most out of quarterback Drake Maye. With Maye in place, their considerable cap space ($91.75 million, according to Roster Management System) and a high draft pick to help kick-start the build, this job is going to be of real interest to top offensive candidates such as Johnson,” Graziano reported.
Johnson has been one of the most popular head coaching candidates over the past few offseasons. Despite this, Johnson decided to return to Detroit both of the past two offseasons.
If the Patriots were able to snag Ben Johnson, that would open up some interesting possiblities for the future of the organization. New England has a rookie quarterback, a high draft pick, and plenty of cap space to spend in free agency. The Patriots could quickly acquire pieces to build a Ben Johnson offense right away.
