Mike Vrabel is reportedly open to coaching Patriots if Bill Belichick's job opens up

FOXBORO -- At the moment, Bill Belichick remains under contract and is the head coach of the New England Patriots. Belichick made that much clear -- along with his desire to remain with the franchise -- on Monday morning.

But Belichick is on the hot seat after a 4-13 season, and there are rumblings that Robert Kraft may move on from the six-time Super Bowl champ this offseason. If New England's head coaching gig does open up, a Patriots Hall of Famer would be more than happy to fill Belichick's shoes.

According to Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report, Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel -- a three-time Super Bowl champ as a player in New England --  "is interested in the idea of returning to the Patriots, should New England part ways with Bill Belichick." 

Of course for any of that to happen, the Patriots would have move on from Belichick and Vrabel would have to be let go from the Titans. Vrabel has been the head coach in Tennessee since 2018 and guided the Titans to playoff berths in three straight seasons from 2019-21. That included a trip to the AFC Championship Game in 2019, a playoff run that began with a win over the Patriots in the AFC Wild Card round, which ended up being Tom Brady's final game in New England.

But Vrabel has reportedly been frustrated with the direction of the Titans organization the last few years and will talk with ownership this week about the future. The Titans have had back-to-back losing seasons -- 7-10 in 2022 and 6-11 in 2023 -- since trading away star receiver A.J. Brown in 2022.

Vrabel was back in New England last October to take his spot in the Patriots Hall of Fame and spoke extremely highly of the franchise. If a number of things break in a certain way, it sounds like Vrabel would like to make his next return to New England a permanent one.