Patriots Repeating Major Bill Belichick Mistake With Mike Vrabel

It's been a rough three years for the New England Patriots, failing to make the playoffs since 2021. This season, they went 4-13 and decided to part ways with Jerod Mayo after one season at the helm.

The Pats brought in Mike Vrabel to be the 16th head coach in team history, and that has reenergized the fanbase. Vrabel was one of the best players to suit in a Patriot uniform and now he's tasked with rebuilding the Pats.

With Vrabel officially in, it's been revealed that he'll be the top guy in the building. ESPN's Adam Schefter was on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, where he said Eliot Wolf will answer to Vrabel.

Schefter said, "He's staying in his job, whatever that is....Vrabes is the man."

Patriots News: Mike Vrabel is Top Man in NE Organization

While that could sound good at first, the Pats are heading down a similar path that they had with Bill Belichick.

From 2000-2023, Belichick was the head and the de facto general manager. He had complete control of player personnel and had the final say over the roster. While Belichick was a great head coach, he wasn't great at scouting talent. That came to light towards the end of his tenure in NE and has affected the current team.

Giving Vrabel that same kind of power is very risky. Vrabel also brought in Ryan Cowden, who will be the No. 2 to Wolf but both guys will answer to Vrabel.

Robert Kraft wanted to make sure that the 49-year-old came to New England. Having all this power and running the show was certainly something that helped close the deal.

We'll have to see how things work out, but from the outside looking in, it appears that Wolf's power within the organization has decreased. New England enters the offseason with $125 million in cap space per Spotrac and nine picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. Vrabel will have a ton of input on these decisions and we'll have to see how that works out.

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