Patriots’ Robert Kraft recalls ‘magic moment’ he knew Mike Vrabel could be New England’s coach

Robert Kraft hired Mike Vrabel to be the coach of the New England Patriots in January, but that idea had been in his head since 2019. After Vrabel led the Tennessee Titans to a postseason win in New England, Kraft considered him to be a potential coaching candidate down the road.

That postseason, in the midst of a bone-chilling rain, Vrabel and the 9-7 Titans stunned the 12-4 Patriots with a 20-13 win at Gillette Stadium. It was the last game Tom Brady ever played in a New England uniform, and his last throw resulted in a pick six for Tennessee defensive back Logan Ryan.

Kraft cited that game as the moment he realized Vrabel could be a good fit in New England in an interview with Kay Adams on “Up & Adams.” 

“That magic moment came to me in the last game Brady and [Bill] Belichick ever played as a unit,” Kraft said. “[Vrabel] beat us in the playoffs, and I looked over and thought, ‘He’s a guy who’s been exposed to the greatest coach and the greatest quarterback, and he was able to overcome.’ He has knowledge that’s intrinsic to being in this system, and he knew how to use it in a way to benefit his team.

“Ever since that moment, I’ve thought, ‘Wow, this is a guy, one day, we should consider to lead our efforts.'”

Five years and a couple coaches later, Vrabel is now the man tasked with leading the Patriots back to Super Bowl contention. With Drake Maye under center, Vrabel has an up-and-coming quarterback at the helm, and the Patriots spared no expense in free agency.

Now, the pressure is on Vrabel to turn around a team that went 4-13 last season, and he needs to get results quickly. Kraft wants to see improvement after a combined 8-26 record over the past two years.

“The last two years were the worst of my 31 years of ownership,” Kraft told ESPN’s Adam Schefter in June. “We have to change that. We have a new coach in Mike Vrabel who is really connected with the players, doing great work.”

Vrabel does have a history of getting the most out of his teams. As the coach of the Titans from 2018-23, Vrabel went 54-45 with a 2-3 record in the postseason. In that 2019 postseason, Tennessee went all the way to the AFC Championship Game before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs.