Mike Vrabel Reportedly Manipulated Patriots Into Jerod Mayo Firing
Mike Vrabel and Jerod Mayo's time as linebackers for the New England Patriots had one season of overlap, in Mayo's 2008 rookie season. Since then, the two have largely been adversaries as coaches. Vrabel's Titans knocked the Patriots out of the postseason in Mayo's first year as New England's linebackers coach. Mayo got revenge in 2021. But now Vrabel may be getting the last laugh.
Reports swirled in both directions about whether Mayo was going to be fired after his first year as a head coach in New England, and ultimately he was, and apparently for good reason. But the cause goes deeper than we first realized.
The latest report shows Mike Vrabel applying some sneaky pressure on the Patriots to fire Mayo, potentially in hopes of landing the job himself.
Was told that Mike Vrabel’s dalliance w/ #Jets was to put pressure on #Patriots to make a move. With a young, incredibly promising QB (who improved every week despite very little talent around him), more cap space than anyone and stable ownership, of course the NE job ranks high.
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) January 5, 2025
Mike Vrabel Already Trying to Replace Jerod Mayo as Patriots' Head Coach?
According to a report from CBS Sports' Aditi Kinkhabwala, Vrabel's pursuit of the Patriots' head coach job started early. His consulting agreement with the Cleveland Browns ended before the season did, freeing him up to start pursuing his next job. Early reports emerged that he was in the running for the New York Jets' job.
According to Kinkhabwala, that interest may have been a ploy to put some pressure on Robert Kraft and the Patriots to make the tough decision to move on from Mayo.
The New England head coaching job obviously has a lot to like: stable ownership, a ridiculous amount of cap space to improve the roster, and a promising young franchise QB. That's to mention nothing of Vrabel's ties to the organization and fanbase formed over eight years and three Super Bowl wins.
This is still just one report, so we should approach it with some caution. But if there's any truth to this then it was a wildly savvy move from Vrabel, and it would be great news for Patriots fans.
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