For a second consecutive year, the New England Patriots will hire a new head coach.
Last year, the team parted ways with the greatest coach in NFL history, Bill Belichick, and hired Jerod Mayo to replace him. The Mayo era came to an abrupt end after the Patriots finished the season with a 4-13 record, following a 23-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Week 18.
After the game, owner Robert Kraft announced the team’s decision to fire Mayo and seek a different option for the head coaching position. Opinions are mixed on Mayo’s firing, given that he was a rookie head coach who inherited the worst team in the league.
Kraft accepted full responsibility for Mayo’s failure as head coach when speaking to members of the media Monday.
“This whole situation is up to me. I feel bad for Jerod because I put him in an untenable situation,” Kraft said. “I know he has all the tools as a head coach to succeed in this league. He just needed more time before accepting the job. At the end of the day, I’m a fan of this team first, and now I have to go out and find a coach who can get us back to the playoffs and hopefully championships.
With the Mayo era behind us, the Patriots quickly turned their attention to the organization’s future head coach. Patriots Wire tracks all the rumors, interviews and top candidates in the ongoing search.
Byron Leftwich
Current role: Free agent
Status: Interview carried out (January 7)
Byron Leftwich is the former offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He coached Patriots legend Tom Brady to the team’s Super Bowl during the 2020 season. The Buccaneers fired him after the 2022 season, and he has been sidelined ever since.
Pep Hamilton
Current role: Free agent
Status: Interview carried out (January 7)
Pep Hamilton has not coached in the NFL since parting ways with the Houston Texans after the 2022 season. However, he has a long and extensive coaching career worthy of a look from the Patriots. In recent years, he has served as offensive coordinator for the Texans, quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Chargers and head coach/general manager of the DC Defenders in the XFL.
Ben Johnson
Current role: Detroit Lions Offensive Coordinator
Status: Requested for an interview
Ben Johnson is expected to be one of the top candidates for a head coaching job in 2025. Several teams, including the Patriots, have asked to interview him, but for now, he’s forced to put all that aside to focus on the Lions’ playoff run.
Mike Vrabel
Current role: Free agent
Status: Interview scheduled for Thursday January 9
There are plenty of reasons to think the Patriots would be interested in hiring Mike Vrabel for the position. Some would even go so far as to say that his availability is the reason the Patriots decided to fire Mayo so quickly.
If there is a favorite candidate for the job in New England, it would be the one who won three Super Bowls with the team as a player under Bill Belichick.
Vrabel is an experienced head coach who has led the Titans to three consecutive playoff appearances. He was fired by the team at the end of the 2023 season and spent 2024 as a coach and personnel consultant for the Cleveland Browns.
The Athletic’s Chad Graff and RJ Kraft reported that early signs pointed to Vrabel as the most likely candidate to pursue the Patriots.
Graff and Kraft wrote:
The Patriots are expected to immediately begin searching for a new head coach and, according to league sources, early signs point to one person. Kraft and company are expected to pursue Mike Vrabel, the 49-year-old former Patriots linebacker who starred for Belichick from 2001 to 2008 during the team’s first dynasty, although the franchise must conduct additional interviews for the position , per the league’s Rooney Rule. .
Other articles
Bill Belichick reacts to Patriots firing Jerod Mayo after one season
Report: Patriots DC DeMarcus Covington interviewing 2025 opponent
Longtime Patriots captain makes decision on his football future
This article was originally published on Patriots Wire: Patriots Head Coach Tracker: Rumors, Interviews and Top Candidates
