SAN FRANCISCO — Mike Vrabel said he intends to bring home some silverware from Santa Clara, and on Thursday at the NFL Honors he added Coach of the Year to his résumé for the 2025 season. Vrabel engineered a dramatic turnaround in New England after the organization moved on from Bill Belichick following 2023 and dismissed Jerod Mayo after 2024.
He inherited a club that had lost 13 games the previous year and became the first coach to win at least 13 games in his debut season. The Patriots finished with 17 wins this season, including the playoffs, tying George Seifert’s mark for the most wins by a first-year coach; a Super Bowl victory in Super Bowl LX would lift that total to 18. For context, Seifert’s 1989 49ers also had 17 wins in his first year, while Jim Caldwell’s 2009 Colts had 16.
New England also reclaimed the AFC East for the first time since 2019 and now stands one game away from a Super Bowl berth. If the Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX, Vrabel would become just the fifth coach to win a Super Bowl in his first season, the third former franchise player-coach to win the title, and — notably — the first to do so with the same franchise he once played for.
This is Vrabel’s second Coach of the Year honor; he previously won the award in 2021 as Tennessee’s head coach. He topped a finalist list that included Liam Cohen (Jaguars), Ben Johnson (Bears), Mike McDonald (Seahawks) and Kyle Shanahan (49ers).
Fan Take: Vrabel’s rapid revival of the Patriots matters because it shows how quickly a franchise can flip from rebuilding to contender with the right leadership, energizing a historic franchise and its fan base. If New England caps this run with a Super Bowl, it could reshape hiring and roster-building philosophies across the league, emphasizing experienced, culture-driven coaches.
