Who could the Patriots hire to be team's next head coach?
FOXBORO -- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has already made the biggest decision of the offseason, firing head coach Jerod Mayo on Sunday. It wasn't an easy decision for Kraft, who hand-picked Mayo as Bill Belichick's successor years ago.
But Kraft wasted no time in admitting his mistake with Mayo, firing him just over an hour after the Patriots completed a 4-13 season with a Week 18 win over the Buffalo Bills. That win cost the Patriots the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, dropping the team to the fourth pick.
That Mayo didn't even make it to the NFL's famous Black Monday shows just how much conviction Kraft had with this move. He knew a change had to be made, and he didn't wait around to make it.
Now it will be up to Kraft to conduct a full head-coaching search this offseason, something the team didn't go through before giving Mayo the job last January. With Drake Maye at quarterback and a lot of cash to burn this offseason (plus that high draft pick), the Patriots should be an appealing destination for head-coaching hopefuls -- or at least much more than what their 4-13 record in 2024 would indicate.
But the Patriots have to get this one right. They cannot afford to waste any more seasons of Maye on his rookie contract. They have a lot of holes to plug on the roster, but it's important to nail this head-coach hiring.
Here are some of the hot names that will be connected to the New England job in the coming weeks.
Mike Vrabel
Vrabel is the name for teams that need a head coach this offseason. And while he won three Super Bowl rings as a player in New England, he is not connected to the Belichick coaching tree. But Vrabel could be that connecting piece to the glory days of the Patriots while bringing a fresh approach to the organization.
Vrabel went 54-45 in his six seasons as head coach of the Tennessee Titans, and he usually got a lot out of a roster that didn't have a vast collection of talent. Tennessee made it to the AFC Championship Game in 2019 -- beating Tom Brady in his final game as a Patriot along the way -- and had two other playoff berths under Vrabel, who led them to 11 wins in 2020 and 12 wins in 2021.
The Titans fired Vrabel after a 6-11 season in 2023, as the organization wasn't too pleased with his overly pro-Patriot speech when he was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame during Tennessee's bye week. Vrabel was in Kraft's box during New England's game that weekend, as he's remained closed with the owner.
But with Mayo already promised the job, Vrabel didn't get an interview in New England last offseason. He ended up spending the 2024 season with the Cleveland Browns as a consultant.
Vrabel already interviewed with the New York Jets on Friday, which CBS' Aditi Kinkhabwala reported Sunday was just to put pressure on the Patriots to move on from Mayo.
It sounds like Mike Vrabel wants the Patriots job, and the Patriots likely want Mike Vrabel to fill the job.
Ben Johnson
Johnson is the other hot name in this coaching cycle, as he's helped turn the Detroit Lions into a Super Bowl contender as the team's offensive coordinator over the last three years. The 38-year-old has no head-coaching experience, but he'd pair nicely with Maye as the young faces of the Patriots.
With the Lions now on their playoff bye week after earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC, Johnson can interview with teams this week. On Monday, the Patriots made a formal request to interview Johnson for their head-coaching vacancy. Johnson plans to interview with both the Patriots and the Chicago Bears, according to NFL Insider Albert Breer.
Brian Flores
A former Belichick assistant, Flores was on the Patriots' coaching staff for 11 years before he got his shot as a head coach. He struggled in that first opportunity, going 24-25 over his three seasons with the Miami Dolphins from 2019-2021.
But he's been spectacular as the defensive coordinator of the Vikings over the last two seasons, as Minnesota has played some of the best defense in the NFL since Flores took over. Flores would need to bring in some coaches to help with the offense and continue Maye's progress, but he should have a decent rolodex to pull from at this point.
Kliff Kingsbury
If it's an offensive-minded head coach that the Patriots want -- and they miss out on Johnson -- Kraft could turn his sights to Kingsbury. He had a great run at Texas A&M before being hired as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2019, but went just 28-37-1 with only one playoff berth in the pros. He was let go in Arizona after a 4-13 season in 2022.
He's restored his image a bit as the offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders this season, and is wrapping up a solid season with rookie QB Jaylen Daniels. Washington is back in the playoffs after a 12-5 season and had a Top 5 scoring offense heading into Week 18.
A former quarterback, Kingsbury also has ties to the Patriots too, as he was a sixth-round pick by the team in 2003.
Aaron Glenn
The Patriots could turn to another Detroit coordinator, with Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn expected to get some head-coaching interest this offseason. He's been Detroit's DC for the last three seasons and has overseen the Lions' rise to being a Top 10 NFL defense.
Glenn was a Pro Bowl cornerback during his playing days, and has been coaching in the NFL since 2014.
Liam Coen
Coen is an outside-of-the-box candidate, but the Rhode Island native and UMass alum has been making a name for himself the last few years. He's currently the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had a Top 5 scoring offense in the NFL this season, and previously served that same role for the Los Angeles Rams under Sean McVay.
Before he broke into the NFL as the assistant wide receivers coach for the Rams in 2018, Coen had stints as an offensive coach at several New England colleges, with stops at Brown (2010 and 2012-13), Rhode Island (2011), UMass (2014-15), and Maine (2016-17).
