Flavin Media

Mike Vrabel (Interviewed face-to-face):

Pros: Handling a locker room is second nature to him, manages game situations well, had winning seasons as head coach of the Titans.

Potential Cons: Too defensively minded, success depends on cohesive coordinators, he would be a figurehead for the whole organization (he would dictate most decisions, as you guys grew tired of with Belichick).

Ben Johnson (Interviewed virtually):

Pros: A coach with a potentially revolutionary offensive system, well-spoken, comes from a winning environment.

Potential Cons: Too offensively minded, first-year head coach, not used to lack of roster talent and depth.

Team fit:

The New England Patriots are coming off a season with damage done to the culture and regressing, especially on defense. This was under a first-year coach who obviously didn’t know any better and had to learn on the job as any inexperienced person would.

So, if an organization values any potential lessons of the past, they would recognize that Mike Vrabel would be the fit to reinstate the right culture with his previous experience in being a leader and setting a standard. Quality offensive coordinators are not the rarest to come by, so it wouldn’t be tough to help him out and complete the picture.

With Ben Johnson, you would be getting your own fancy offensive system that players and fans everywhere would be attracted to, which primes Drake Maye for a quality sophomore season. If you believe the NFL is purely about offense, this hiring would help the team outscore opponents while a quality defensive coordinator can keep enough opposing points off the board.

Ideal outcome:

It’s definitely worth noting that Vrabel’s interview was in person, while Johnson’s interview was virtual, so Vrabel had the upper hand that forced Johnson to have an exceptionally good interview. Keep this in your head as the situation goes on and on…

Regardless, things should point to Mike Vrabel being the next head coach of this team. There are lessons Ben Johnson can’t even think of currently that will inevitably come up in his first season as a head coach, and this roster needs too much to suffer through that. Vrabel’s experience as a head coach alone should win out, leaving an impact on the defensive unit while giving offensive duties to a quality coordinator hire.