For a second straight year, the New England Patriots will be hiring a new head coach.
Last year, the team parted ways with the greatest coach in NFL history, Bill Belichick, and hired Jerod Mayo as his replacement. The Mayo era came to an abrupt end after the Patriots finished 4-13 on the season, following a 23-16 win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 18.
After the game, owner Robert Kraft announced the team’s decision to fire Mayo and seek out a different option for the head coaching job. There have been mixed opinions on Mayo’s firing considering he was a rookie head coach who inherited the worst roster in the league.
Kraft accepted full blame for Mayo’s failed run as head coach when addressing media members on Monday.
“This whole situation is on me. I feel terrible for Jerod because I put him in an untenable situation,” said Kraft. “I know that he has all of the tools as a head coach to be successful in this league. He just needed more time before taking the job. In the end, I’m a fan of this team first, and now, I have to go out and find a coach who can get us back to the playoffs and hopefully championships.”
With the Mayo era in the rearview, the Patriots have quickly shifted their focus to the future head coach of the organization. Patriots Wire is tracking all of the rumors, interviews and top candidates in the ongoing search.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Current role: Free agent
Status: Interview conducted (January 7)
Byron Leftwich is the former offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He coached Patriots legend Tom Brady in the team’s Super Bowl run in the 2020 season. The Buccaneers fired him after the 2022 season, and he’s been sidelined ever since.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Current role: Free agent
Status: Interview conducted (January 7)
Pep Hamilton hasn’t coached in the NFL since parting ways with the Houston Texans after the 2022 season. However, he has a long and extensive coaching career worthy of a look from the Patriots. In recent years, he served as the offensive coordinator for the Texans, quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Chargers and head coach/general manager for the DC Defenders in the XFL.
Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images
Current role: Detroit Lions offensive coordinator
Status: Requested for interview
Ben Johnson is expected to be one of the top candidates for a head coaching job in 2025. Multiple teams, including the Patriots, have requested to interview him, but for now, he is forced to put all of that on the backburner to focus on the Lions’ postseason run.
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Current role: Free agent
Status: Interview scheduled for Thursday (January 9)
There are plenty of reasons to think the Patriots would be interested in hiring Mike Vrabel for the job. Some would even go as far as saying his availability is the reason why the Patriots made the move to fire Mayo so quickly.
If there’s a leading candidate for the job in New England, it would be the guy who won three Super Bowls with the team as a player under Bill Belichick.
Vrabel is an experienced head coach who led the Titans to three consecutive playoff appearances. He was fired by the team at the end of the 2023 season, and he spent 2024 as a coaching and personnel consultant for the Cleveland Browns.
The Athletic’s Chad Graff and RJ Kraft reported that the early signs pointed to Vrabel as the candidate the Patriots are most likely to pursue.
Graff and Kraft wrote:
The Patriots are expected to begin their search for a new head coach immediately, and, according to league sources, the early signs point to one person. Kraft and company are expected to pursue Mike Vrabel, the 49-year-old former Patriots linebacker who shined for Belichick from 2001 to 2008 during the team’s first dynasty, though the franchise must conduct additional interviews for the job in compliance with the league’s Rooney Rule.
