The New England Patriots’ biggest move of the offseason is done, swapping Mike Vrabel in for Jerod Mayo as the team’s head coach over a seven-day span.
After his speedy hiring, Vrabel has a lot on his plate following back-to-back 4-13 seasons for the Patriots. Up first: filling out his coaching staff.
Patriots hire Mike Vrabel as next head coach
Vrabel succeeded in Tennessee in part because he built good supporting staffs; two of his offensive coordinators eventually landed head-coaching jobs. His picks for offensive and defensive coordinator will be arguably his two biggest decisions before the season begins.
So as the Patriots near their red-carpet moment with Vrabel at noon ET on Monday, here are some of the candidates to become the Patriots’ next offensive and defensive coordinators.
Offensive coordinator
Josh McDaniels
We start with a familiar name for Patriots fans, someone who has been linked to this opening for a week. McDaniels, 48, was an offensive assistant coach during Vrabel’s playing days in New England and has spent 18 years with the franchise.
Both of his gigs as a head coach went poorly, and his most recent stint with the Las Vegas Raiders was bad enough that McDaniels was out of coaching this year. Still, he has familiarity with Vrabel and had success working with Mac Jones during his rookie season, which is likely appealing as Vrabel figures out whom to pair with young quarterback Drake Maye.
Tommy Rees
Rees, 32, is the youngest of these candidates and already interviewed with the Cleveland Browns for their vacant coordinator job. But in Vrabel’s first year as a head coach with the Titans, he lured Matt LaFleur away from Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams because he was willing to give him play-calling duties and more responsibility. Perhaps he could do the same with Rees, who would likely be blocked from play calling with the Browns by Kevin Stefanski. Vrabel worked as a consultant with the Browns this season, so he had an up close look at Rees, who was a passing-game specialist.
Josh McCown
It’s unclear whether McCown and Vrabel have a relationship (they were NFL players at the same time), but McCown is close with Maye after helping coach and mentor him in high school. So if Vrabel wants to lean into making Maye feel comfortable, he could pursue the Minnesota Vikings’ quarterbacks coach. McCown, 45, has already interviewed with the New York Jets for their head-coaching job but has not interviewed yet for an offensive coordinator opening.
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Nick Caley
Last year, Caley turned down Mayo’s offer to become the Patriots’ offensive coordinator, choosing to stick with McVay and the Rams as their pass-game coordinator. Maybe he’d reconsider this time with Vrabel in charge. While Caley, 41, spent eight years in New England, he never overlapped with Vrabel and has worked under McVay for the last two years.
Tim Kelly
Kelly was Vrabel’s offensive coordinator in the head coach’s final year in Tennessee. He spent this season as the New York Giants’ tight ends coach but could be reunited with his former boss. The 38-year-old was also on the same staff as Vrabel when they were both with the Houston Texans.
Charles London
London, 49, was the Titans’ pass-game coordinator for Vrabel’s final season in Tennessee and spent this season as the Seattle Seahawks’ quarterbacks coach. He got his first big coaching break working at Penn State for Bill O’Brien, whom Vrabel remains friends with.
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Defensive coordinators
Shane Bowen
Bowen might be Vrabel’s top choice, but the complicating factor here is that Bowen is still under contract with the Giants as defensive coordinator. And though owner John Mara expressed dissatisfaction with his team’s performance, it doesn’t seem like the Giants are ready to split with the 38-year-old Bowen, who spent three years as Vrabel’s defensive coordinator in Tennessee.
Patrick Graham
Vrabel and Graham just missed each other with the Patriots since Vrabel was traded right when Graham was joining the staff in early 2009. But Graham, 45, has impressed as a defensive coordinator in recent years and drawn interest from teams with head-coaching opportunities. He was the Raiders’ defensive coordinator this season, but his contract with them has expired.
Chris Harris
Vrabel hired Harris in 2023 to become the Titans’ defensive pass-game coordinator. The 42-year-old got into coaching after an eight-year NFL career that included 16 interceptions. He was one of the few Vrabel assistants who kept his job under new Tennessee coach Brian Callahan.
Terrell Williams
Williams was with Vrabel throughout his tenure in Tennessee and was promoted in 2023 to assistant head coach in addition to coaching the defensive line. Williams, 50, spent this season as the defensive run-game coordinator with the Detroit Lions.
(Photo of Josh McDaniels: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)
