Mike Vrabel Confirms Speculated Nugget About Josh McDaniels

It wasn’t a shock to see Mike Vrabel receiving another head coaching gig, but there were questions about how much of his return he planned out.

The final month of the 2024 season featured multiple rumors about the New England Patriots’ interest in replacing Jerod Mayo with Vrabel. Attached to those rumors was Josh McDaniels with speculation that Vrabel had McDaniels in mind as his offensive coordinator.

That sentiment was all but confirmed at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday.

” … You asked about Josh. Having communications with Josh in my role in Cleveland, he wasn’t under contract with a team so we had numerous conversations. Interviewed a handful of great candidates and in the end, felt like Josh was the best fit to lead our offense, just like Terrell (Williams) was the best fit to our defense and Jeremy (Springer) and Tom (Quinn) returning to lead the special teams unit.”

It was also speculated that Patriots owner Robert Kraft handpicked McDaniels without approval from Vrabel. The New England owner debunked that theory, and further comments from the head coach hinted that the decision was his alone.

With that seemingly out of the way, Vrabel, McDaniels and the Patriots front office have turned their attention to the offseason to collaborate on how to improve the offense through the draft and free agency.