Among the Boston-area media and fans, ever since New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft fired his own hand-picked head coach, Jerod Mayo, on Sunday, there’s been a widely held belief that Kraft has already hand-picked the next one. The hiring of Mike Vrabel â the 49-year-old former Tennessee Titans head coach who was a linebacker on three Patriots Super Bowl winning teams as well as the 16-0 team in 2007 that ultimately lost the Super Bowl â is widely seen as a “done deal.”
“Kraft is on to his next head coach,” wrote longtime Patriots beat reporter Karen Guregian. “And it sure looks like itâs going to be Vrabel.”
Or will it?
Ben Johnson, an Unusual Pick for Robert Kraft
The Patriots have already scheduled a job interview with at least one other contender for the throne that was occupied by Bill Belichick for an incredible 24 seasons, the third longest tenure of any head coach in NFL history. The candidate is Ben Johnson, the innovative offensive coordinator who just helped lead the Detroit Lions to a 15-2 regular season, the franchise’s best record since 1953.
Johnson would be an unusual pick for Kraft in that he would come with no previous ties to the Patriots organization. Of the four head coaches Kraft had hired, only Pete Carroll who lasted just three seasons came with no New England connections. Even Kraft’s first hire, Bill Parcells, had been the Patriots’ linebackers coach in 1980.
The Detroit OC would also be a rookie head coach, as was Mayo, potentially leaving him open to some of the same issues. Mayo was the first head coach hired by Kraft who had not cut his teeth as head coach with another team first.
Johnson’s Baggage: Tom Brady Accuser Mark Brunell
But Johnson could come with one other complication â one that fans and some members of the Patriots staff may find alienating. For all three of his seasons as the Lions’ offensive coordinator, Johnson’s quarterbacks coach has been former three-time Pro Bowl QB Mark Brunell. According to some speculation, Johnson may want to bring on Brunell , 54, as offensive coordinator at any team that hires Johnson as its head coach.
Patriots fans who have been around for a while will remember Brunell as the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback who led the expansion team to the 1996 AFC Conference Final in the second year of the team’s existence â a game in which they were defeated by the New England Patriots , who went on to only the second Super Bowl in franchise history.
More recently, however, Brunell is notorious among Patriots fans for an incident when he was an on-air studio commentator for ESPN. During the so-called “Deflategate” scandal, Brunell was so passionate about accusing Patriots legendary quarterback Tom Brady of illegally deflating game footballs that he almost broke into tears during a broadcast.
Brunell ‘Would Not be a Popular Addition’
In the 2015 segment, Brunell appeared to call Brady a liar, saying, “I just didn’t believe what Tom Brady had to say,” following a press conference in which Brady asserted that he had no knowledge of allegedly deflated footballs.
“Worth noting for Ben Johnson as a Patriots head coaching candidate: Lions QB coach Mark Brunell is rumored to be Johnsonâs OC,” wrote Patriots blogger Dan Kelley. “Brunnell was outspoken against Tom Brady and the Patriots regarding Deflategate to the point of tears. He would not be a popular addition to the staff.”
With Brady gone from the Patriots since after the 2019 season and retired since 2022, would Brunell’s on-air, emotional attack on him make any difference to Patriots fans and media? If Johnson and Brunell returned the Patriots to winning after two seasons in which New England has compiled a 7-27 record, old wounds may find themselves healed.
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