The New England Patriots have a very important decision to make in the very near future. And they may have to make it sooner than expected.
While the current expectation is that Jerod Mayo will remain head coach into the 2025 season (as our Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry have reported), last Saturday's debacle against the Los Angeles Chargers caused increased speculation about a potential coaching change -- particularly involving former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, whose consulting agreement with the Cleveland Browns reportedly expired Monday.
That means Vrabel is now free to speak with other teams, and he's expected to have plenty of interest on the coaching market. So, even if the Patriots wanted to move on from Mayo -- which doesn't seem likely at this point -- would Vrabel even be a feasible option?
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The MMQB's joined NBC Sports Boston's Arbella Early Edition on Monday to break it all down.
"If you want to be in (the running for Vrabel), you've got to back-channel now," Breer said, as seen in the video player above. "That's a discussion the Krafts probably have to have, and have to have alone. They've got a level of trust with Mike Vrabel where they could probably talk to him."
Breer mentioned the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants (if they part with Brian Daboll) as teams expected to have interest in Vrabel, as well as the three clubs with current head coaching vacancies in the New York Jets, Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints.
"I can just tell you, I think the Raiders would have a ton of interest in him," Breer said. "I think the Giants, if they make a change, would have a ton of interest in him, and the three teams that have openings now have him at or near the top of the list. He's going to have options.
"This could move quickly with Mike. There are are some guardrails in place now with the rules that prevent things from moving too fast. It'd be impossible for him to have a job on like, Wednesday of next week. But I do think this is the fastest-moving train on the coaching market, so if you want to get in on it, I think you have to have communication."
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Vrabel would be open to taking the Patriots' coaching job, according to Curran, and has deep ties to the franchise as a member of New England's Hall of Fame. That said, the Patriots still would be taking a big risk if they fired Mayo immediately after Sunday's season finale with the hope of landing Vrabel, who clearly has multiple options -- including from teams that already have openings.
"Whatever position you're looking to fire and then hire, you have to be sure if you're the Krafts that you're getting an upgrade," Perry said on Early Edition, via the video player above. "... If Mike Vrabel is going the belle of the ball, I don't think you can guarantee that.
"So, even if the Krafts say, 'OK, this might be our last opportunity to go get Vrabel, we love Vrabel, it hasn't looked good for Jerod to this point -- do we fire him just to throw our hat in the ring for Mike Vrabel on the 25 percent chance we're able to land him?' Or can you guarantee through those back-channels that he would be coming to New England if you did make a move?"
Perhaps the Krafts already are having exploratory conversations with Vrabel about his potential next steps. But if they can't guarantee he'd wind up in New England and they don't view other candidates as upgrades over Mayo, then it may not make sense to make a head coaching change.
Check out the full discussion in the YouTube video below.