Mike Vrabel - Pro Football Rumors

Matt Patricia Prefers Giants To Lions

January 10th, 2018 at 2:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots are bracing for Matt Patricia to leave, but it might not be for the Lions’ head coaching job. The defensive guru is also up for the Giants’ job and he prefers the G-Men to the Lions, Peter King of The MMQB hears.

If Patricia is offered the Giants’ head coaching position and accepts, it will have a domino effect reaching Detroit and beyond. If Patricia goes to the Giants, the Lions may pivot to Houston defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel, King hears. If that happens, Vrabel would be out of the running for the Colts’ HC job.

The Giants were abysmal in 2017, but they have lots of talent to work with on defense including cornerback Janoris Jenkins and defensive ends Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon. If Patricia can get underperforming youngsters like Eli Apple on the right track, the Giants could return to having one of the better defensive units in the NFL. The Giants also have the No. 2 overall pick at their disposal, so Patricia’s preference towards New York is understandable.

Lions To Interview Mike Vrabel, Pat Shurmur This Week

January 2nd, 2018 at 7:27pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Lions will interview Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel for their head coaching vacancy on Wednesday, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link), while Detroit’s meeting with Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur will take place on Thursday, per Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).

In his first year as Houston’s defensive play-caller, Vrabel — who took over for veteran coach Romeo Crennel — lead the Texans to a No. 23 ranking in DVOA. While that’s not an overly impressive finish, Houston was dealing with the loss of defensive stalwarts such as J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus, so Vrabel was forced to work with limited options. He’s also drawn interest from the Colts, who have requested to interview the 42-year-old coach.

Detroit put in a request earlier this week to interview Shurmur, and that proposal has evidently been granted by the division-rival Vikings. Because Minnesota has a first-round playoff bye, Shurmur is allowed to interview this week. Injuries to Sam Bradford, Teddy Bridgewater, and Dalvin Cook meant Shurmur lead an offense built around Case Keenum, Latavius Murray, and Jerick McKinnon, but the Vikings still managed to finish fifth in offensive DVOA.

Vrabel and Shurmur aren’t the only candidates the Lions are interested in, as general manager Bob Quinn & Co. has interviewed incumbent defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, incumbent offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, and Packers assistant head coach Winston Moss today. Detroit has also requested permission to interview Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.

Colts To Interview Texans DC Mike Vrabel, Request Josh McDaniels Summit

January 1st, 2018 at 3:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Texans granted the Colts permission to speak with their defensive coordinator, Mike Vrabel, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. And the Colts now have three names to whom they’ve submitted interview requests.

Indianapolis also submitted a request to meet with Josh McDaniels, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

Chris Ballard said Monday (via Mike Wells of ESPN.com) previous head-coaching experience will not be mandatory to fill Chuck Pagano‘s spot. Panthers DC Steve Wilks, a first-year coordinator, confirmed the Colts requested an interview with him.

McDaniels figures to be a sought-after name on the market again this year. The Patriots OC has been selective in the past, though, so it won’t be a given he jumps at the chance to coach Andrew Luck — whose future remains uncertain.

Vrabel just finished his first season as Houston’s DC. His unit fell from first in 2016 to 20th this season. However, the Texans encountered serious injury problems in Vrabel’s first season. The former Patriots stalwart’s name came up in the Rams’ and 49ers’ HC searches last year.

NFL Recommends Coaching Candidates

December 21st, 2017 at 12:03pm CST by Zachary Links

Each year, the NFL’s Career Development Advisory Panel releases a list of candidates for head coaching jobs. According to Mike Lombardi of The Ringer (Twitter link), that list includes:

Dan Campbell (Assistant Head Coach/TE coach, Saints)
Jim Bob Cooter (Offensive Coordinator, Lions)
John DeFilippo (Quarterbacks Coach, Eagles)
George Edwards (Defensive Coordinator, Vikings)
Josh McDaniels (Offensive Coordinator, Patriots)
Matt Nagy (Offensive Coordinator, Chiefs)
Matt Patricia (Defensive Coordinator, Patriots)
Jim Schwartz (Defensive Coordinator, Eagles)
Pat Shurmur (Offensive Coordinator, Vikings)
Dave Toub (Special Teams Coach, Chiefs)
Steve Wilks (Defensive Coordinator, Panthers)
Mike Vrabel (Defensive Coordinator, Texans)

McDaniels, of course, comes with previous head coaching experience. He was probably too young to handle those responsibilities in Denver, but he has reasserted himself as an offensive wunderkind. Both McDaniels and Patricia will be hot candidates for head coaching jobs this year, so the Patriots may have to make serious changes on the coaching staff.

There is some overlap with the list of minority candidates recommended by the Fritz Pollard Alliance, though Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and Titans offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie did not make the cut on this list. Austin received head coaching interviews in each of the last two offseasons, so he seems likely to garner some consideration this time around.

La Canfora’s Latest: O’Brien, Arians, Browns

December 17th, 2017 at 12:06pm CST by Rory Parks

Earlier today, we learned that Marvin Lewis is planning to leave Cincinnati after 15 years as the Bengals’ head coach, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that the Texans and their head coach, Bill O’Brien, could also be headed for a split after the 2017 season. O’Brien has led Houston to three nine-win seasons and two playoff berths, and if rookie sensation Deshaun Watson had not suffered an ACL tear earlier this season, the team might be in playoff contention yet again. However, La Canfora says the relationship between O’Brien and GM Rick Smith has long been complicated, and sources close to the situation foresee a change sooner rather than later. Houston’s head coaching job is an attractive one, largely because of Watson, and O’Brien would be an attractive candidate for one of the multitude of coaching vacancies this offseason. If O’Brien does leave Houston, La Canfora names current defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel as a logical internal candidate to replace him.

Now for more from La Canfora’s Sunday morning output, starting with more out of Houston:

La Canfora writes that Texans QB Tom Savage remains in the concussion protocol and is unlikely to play again in 2o17. Houston is under fire for the way it handled Savage’s head injury last week, and Savage will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, so it is best for all parties involved that Savage simply sit out the last three games of the year.
We head back in October that Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians had not made any decision as to whether his career will continue past the 2017 season, and La Canfora reports that the team is preparing in case Arians decides to call it quits. Sources close to Arians believe he will not be back in 2018, and given the number of teams that will be looking for a new head coach this offseason, the Cardinals must be prepared in case they are also in need of a head coach.
The NFL has confirmed the the Browns complied with the Rooney Rule in their hiring of GM John Dorsey, but the Fritz Pollard Alliance is still concerned with how the process unfolded. The Alliance spoke with commissioner Roger Goodell about the matter prior to last week’s ownership meetings, and it emphasized that all interviews with minority candidates should be reported to Alliance or to the league, which Cleveland did not do when it interviewed Doug Whaley for the GM job. Whaley, meanwhile, was reportedly “crushed” by the process, as he believed he had a legitimate shot at the job only to realize that the Browns were interviewing him simply to comply with the Rooney Rule.
Goodell’s new extension runs through the 2024 season, but he hopes to have his successor in place by 2020. If that successor has made sufficient progress, it is possible that Goodell steps aside prior to 2024. La Canfora adds that sweeping changes will be made to the league office in 2018, including changes to football operations at the upper-management level across several departments.
There is “growing support” among league owners for reverting to the pre-2009 gameday operations schedule, which means that players would not be mandated to be on the sidelines for the national anthem at primetime games. Owners are also considering making the anthem earlier, at a time when the sidelines are often vacant.

NFC East Notes: Giants, Redskins, Jones

December 4th, 2017 at 9:15pm CST by GregGoldstein

Now that the Giants front office and coaching staff is set to go through a number of changes after the firing of Jerry Reese and Ben McAdoo, there’s a ton of speculation of who could be the person put in charge to bring the franchise back to perennial success.

While many people think the hire will come outside the organization, Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network thinks interim GM Kevin Abrams should not be overlooked as the Giants begin their search.

Garafolo notes that Abrams is a “cap guy by trade”, but has worked on his scouting ability in recent years and has “attended multiple NFL seminars” to prepare to lead a football operations department. A number of names are likely to be floated for the job given that the team will likely have a high pick and has a track record of winning, but Abrams seems like he might get a realistic shot at turning his interim tag into a full-time position.

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

Apart from Abrams, Mike Sando of ESPN.com speculated a few candidates from outside the organization who could be contenders for the Giants general manager and head coaching gigs. Sando names front office guys like Nick Caserio from the Patriots, former Panthers GM Dave Gettleman and former Colts President Bill Polian. He also highlights many well known up-and-comers such as Eric DeCosta (Ravens), George Paton (Vikings), Eliot Wolf (Packers) and Terry McDonough (Cardinals) among many others. Sando added that former GM’s Scott Pioli (Falcons) and John Dorsey (free agent) could be intriguing hires as well. In terms of potential head coaching candidates, Sando names guys who were on the teams original list back before they hired McAdoo prior the 2016-17 season. This would include current coordinators like Teryl Austin (Lions) and Mike Smith (Buccaneers). An under-the-radar name to watch is Texans defensive coordinator, Mike Vrabel, who is best known for his time leading the Patriots defense to Super Bowl titles.
While the Redskins are out of the NFC playoff race after losing to the Cowboys last Thursday, that doesn’t mean that team will start resting their players, states John Keim of ESPN.com. He passes along that Head coach Jay Gruden said that he wouldn’t rest some of their injured starters just because the games don’t have postseason implications for the team. “They’re all trying to get back in the lineup,” Gruden said. “They’re going to play hard because they want to win and want to do well. That’s the reason they’re all here. We try to target guys that love football, are passionate about the game and are going to play hard no matter what. For the most part, we’ve got that here. So whether you are on one year left or five years left, doesn’t really matter.” Starters like left tackle Trent Williams, right tackle Morgan Moses and tight end Jordan Reed have all dealt with nagging injuries this season, but it appears that the Redskins won’t just solely be resting key players hoping that could lead to a better draft pick.
Eagles cornerback Sidney Jones has not played in a game this season as he’s continued to rehab the achilles that he had torn back in March. However, the rookie has yet to participate in practice, reports Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Jones has been eligible to start practicing since the beginning of Week 7, but has just a 21 day time period to be activated to the roster once he does begin to take part in practice. It’s important to note that Berman explains in a follow-up tweet, Jones could just use the last three weeks of the regular season to get extra reps and get a head start on his offseason training. The Eagles currently have corners Jalen Mills, Patrick Robinson, Ronald Darby and Rasul Douglas patrolling the defensive backfield.

Texans To Promote Mike Vrabel To DC

January 18th, 2017 at 8:16am CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Texans are promoting linebackers coach Mike Vrabel to defensive coordinator, reports Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). Predecessor Romeo Crennel will stay on the Texans’ staff and become their assistant head coach.

This is seemingly a boon for Houston, which potentially could have dealt with the departures of both Vrabel and Crennel this offseason. Vrabel drew head coaching interest from the Rams, who instead hired Sean McVay, and both the Chargers and Redskins were eyeing him for their D-coordinator vacancies, according to Breer (Twitter link).

Meanwhile, the soon-to-be 70-year-old Crennel was on an expiring contract prior to Wednesday. Head coach Bill O’Brien made it clear earlier this week that the team didn’t want to lose Crennel.

“Romeo’s done a great job,” O’Brien said Monday. “I know we’d love to have him back. I haven’t sat down with any coaches yet, but I can tell you Romeo’s a great coach. He means a lot to me personally, and we’d love to have Romeo back.”

Crennel had served as the Texans’ defensive coordinator since 2014, and the unit ranked between sixth and eighth in DVOA in each season under his stewardship. Houston also led the NFL in yardage allowed in 2016, which was especially impressive given that superstar end J.J. Watt only played in three games and went on injured reserve in late September. The Crennel-led, Watt-less Texans had other stars emerge, including end Jadeveon Clowney and cornerback A.J. Bouye, while linebacker Whitney Mercilus‘ standout play continued.

Mercilus has worked directly with Vrabel, who was a terrific NFL linebacker in his own right from 1997-2010. Vrabel played under Crennel in both New England and Kansas City during that time, and he then joined him on Houston’s coaching staff in 2014. The two will remain together in 2017, though it’ll be Vrabel manning Crennel’s longtime position. Crennel has been a D-coordinator with four different teams since 2000.

Rams Get OK To Interview Texans’ Mike Vrabel

January 9th, 2017 at 8:50am CST by Zachary Links

Could Mike Vrabel make the leap from linebackers coach to head coach? The Rams asked for – and received – permission to interview the Texans assistant, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB (on Twitter). The Rams plan to interview Vrabel after the Texans’ game against the Patriots this weekend.

Last year, the 49ers tried to bring Vrabel aboard as their defensive coordinator, but he turned the gig down. One year later, the hype around Vrabel is still strong, but it is surprising to hear him as (ostensibly) a head coaching consideration. With six years of coaching experience, but none as coordinator, it would be a remarkably bold move for Los Angeles to hire him for the lead role right now.

Vrabel appears to be a longshot for the Rams’ HC job, but with a strong interview it is possible that team brass could keep him in mind for the defensive coordinator role once a head coach is hired. Of course, he turned down a DC job in California one year ago and there’s no guarantee that he’s ready to leave the Texans now.

For a full rundown of every team’s coaching search, check out PFR’s 2017 Head Coaching Search Tracker.

Mike Vrabel Turns Down 49ers, Will Stay With Texans

January 21st, 2016 at 9:23pm CST by Ben Levine

Texans linebackers coach Mike Vrabel is staying put. According to John Middlekauff of 95.7 The Game (via Twitter), Vrabel has turned down the 49ers offer to become the team’s next defensive coordinator, and he’ll be returning to Houston for the 2016 season.

Vrabel emerged as a contender for the job earlier this week, even after reports emerged that coach Chip Kelly was considering sticking with incumbent coordinator Eric Mangini. Middlekauff’s tweet indicates that the job was offered to Vrabel, so it will be interesting to see if the team now switches focus to Mangini or another candidate. As our own Luke Adams noted earlier this week, Vrabel was the first outside candidate to be connected to the gig.

The long-time Patriots linebacker joined the Texans coaching staff in 2014, and he’s seen success in his two years on the job. The Texans finished the regular season third in the league in total yards allowed, and their 19.6 points allowed per game ranked seventh. Furthermore, some players absolutely flourished under Vrabel’s watch, including Whitney Mercilus, who finished with 15 sacks. Prior to his tenure in Houston, Vrabel spent several seasons on the Ohio State coaching staff.

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com wonders if Vrabel may have received a “wink-nod commitment” from Texans coach Bill O’Brien to become the team’s future defensive coordinator. Romeo Crennel currently holds the position, but the 68-year-old is presumably nearing the end of his coaching career.

Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle notes that Kelly’s Eagles never ranked higher than 28th in total defense during his three season in Philly. However, the 49ers new head coach was quick to dismiss the assumption that his fast-paced offense impacts his defensive unit.

“We get into the time of possession question and we’ve been in games where it was identical play snaps for us and our opponent,” Kelly said. “It was identical yardage for us and our opponent. It was identical first downs for us and our opponent. We won the game by seven, but they had the ball for 10 more minutes than we did.

“So all I learned is that they stand around better than we stand around. It’s still plays run. I’ve also never met a defense player that says, ‘Coach, I want you to possess the ball for the entire game so I don’t have to play.’”

49ers Offer Mike Vrabel DC Job

January 20th, 2016 at 3:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The 49ers have offered Texans assistant Mike Vrabel their defensive coordinator job, sources tell Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link). According to Russini, the team is currently waiting on Vrabel’s answer. It should come soon, as new head coach Chip Kelly said Wednesday that he’d like to have his staff in place within the next week (Twitter link via the team).

Vrabel, who spent most of his NFL playing career with the Patriots, winning three Super Bowls with New England, began his coaching career in 2011 following his retirement as a player. After spending three seasons as a positions coach at Ohio State, Vrabel joined the Texans in 2014. He has been the linebackers coach in Houston for the last two years.

The Niners interviewed Vrabel for their defensive coordinator opening on Tuesday, a day before Kelly was introduced to the media. A Tuesday report indicated that incumbent defensive coordinator Eric Mangini would also interview for the job, despite a Monday report suggesting that there was a “strong possibility” he’d be retained.

If Vrabel ends up accepting the 49ers’ reported offer and becoming the club’s new defensive coordinator, he’ll have a challenging task ahead. In Philadelphia, Kelly’s Eagles ranked at the bottom of the NFL in terms of time of possession in each of the last three seasons due to their fast-paced offense, which forced the defense to spend plenty of time on the field. Mangini’s 49ers unit, meanwhile, ranked 29th in the NFL in yards allowed per game (387.4) in 2015, finishing outside the top 25 against both the run and the pass.

As for Mangini, if he ends up on the outside looking in when San Francisco makes its defensive coordinator hire, he’ll hardly be the first assistant coach Kelly has replaced. We learned on Tuesday that offensive coordinator Geep Chryst and eight other assistants won’t be returning to the team for the 2016 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.