The New England Patriots have hired Mike Vrabel as their new head coach. After just one year, they fired Jerod Mayo and picked the former linebacker to be his replacement. Vrabel went to the playoffs three times in six seasons with the Tennessee Titans, creating a great reputation in the process. Former Patriots teammate Tedy Bruschi reacted to the Vrabel hiring on ESPN.

“He's the right man for the job … it's been bad for the last two years with the New England Patriots organization,” Bruschi said, per Mike Reiss of ESPN. “When they hired Jerod [Mayo], at the press conference, a big word that was used was ‘collaboration.' Everybody's input and all that stuff; well, I don't know how much it is that anymore. And I think that's a good thing.”

“Because Vrabel isn't going to joke around, Vrabel is going to tighten the screws. In my opinion, there are some people in the front office that need to be told, ‘You don't know what you're doing and you need to take a step back,'” he continued.

Bruschi continued by saying he knows Vrabel well from their time with the Patriots and believes he is the right man for the job.”

Mike Vrabel has a tall task to turn around the Patriots

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel looks on during the first quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.
Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Patriots went 4-13 this season and will pick fourth overall in April's draft. While that is a brutal record, they have a promising quarterback. Drake Maye showed that he can be their quarterback of the future in many of their losses this year. While they do not have a great setup for next year, they could be back in contention soon.

Despite his firing from the Titans last season, Vrabel is considered a top coach in the NFL. He was in a power struggle with Ran Carthon, who is no longer the GM in Tennessee, and got the boot. But the Patriots jumped at the opportunity to hire Vrabel this time because of his success with the team.

Drake Maye is the key to success in New England moving forward. The Patriots drafted him third overall last year and now have to surround him with talent. They have the fourth overall pick this year and over $100 million to spend in free agency. Bringing in a wide receiver like Tee Higgins and drafting an offensive lineman would give Maye more support than he had as a rookie.

The Patriots had their eye on Vrabel and landed him in the first coaching hire of the offseason. Now, they must focus on building a roster around their quarterback.