Mike Vrabel Relayed Clear Message to Tom Brady, Raiders Before Being Hired by Patriots

The Patriots hired Mike Vrabel as the franchise's 16th head coach on Sunday morning. The hire comes as no surprise, as the 49-year-old was lauded as the favorite as soon as the team fired Jerod Mayo last Sunday.

Vrabel was widely considered to be among the top candidates in this head coaching cycle, and the residual effects of his hire in New England are now at the forefront. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero dove into what could come next around the league on Sunday morning—with a focus on the Las Vegas Raiders' search:

"What does this mean for some of the other head coaching searches?" he asked alongside Ian Rapoport and Mike Garofolo. "We know Mike Vrabel interviewed with the Bears, but it never seemed like he was really one of the top candidates there. Same with the Jets. It always seemed unlikely. The most rumored landing spot for Mike Vrabel for months was with the Las Vegas Raiders considering that they have his old friend and teammate Tom Brady—now there as a minority owner running their current head coaching search."

Pelissero then revealed a conversation that took place between Vrabel and Brady regarding their head coaching vacancy:

My understanding," he explained. "Is the Raiders never requested an interview or tried to bring Mike Vrabel in because Vrabel essentially told Tom Brady, 'I'm gonna end up going back to New England.'"

Breaking news from The Insiders on @NFLGameDay with @MikeGarafolo and @TomPelissero: The #Patriots are hiring Mike Vrabel as their new coach, sources say. We took a look at all that it means. pic.twitter.com/9rbjlxLUwB
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 12, 2025

Asked and answered.

The Raiders fired Vegas fired both head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco this week—and Brady was reported to be "influential" in both decisions. Ben Johnson is considered to be among their top choices and according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the team is "willing to wait as long as it takes to secure [him]." Johnson interviewed with the team virtually on Friday.

As for the Patriots? They embark on their latest journey with one of their former linebackers serving as head coach post-Bill Belichick. Vrabel will officially be introduced at a press conference from Gillette Stadium on Monday morning.