Belichick fighting former Patriots star for next job and has made feelings clear
Bill Belichick, the former New England Patriots head coach, is in the running to become the next head coach of the Atlanta Falcons - but faces competition from a familiar face.
The Falcons have interviewed Belichick twice after they sacked Arthur Smith following a disappointing season. Mike Vrabel, the former Tennessee Titans head coach, who spent many years as a key player under Belichick in New England, has also been interviewed twice at the Falcons' facility.
Belichick left the Patriots after 24 seasons and a difficult 2023 campaign. Despite this, he's remembered for transforming the Patriots into a six-time Super Bowl-winning team, alongside Tom Brady and Rob Kraft.
Vrabel was a key part of that success, spending many years at the heart of his Patriots defence before turning his hand to coaching. After much success with the Tennessee Titans, he's been let go and could now be an obstacle to Belichick's next job.
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Vrabel had a good run in Tennessee with 54 wins and 45 losses over six seasons. He even took the team to the AFC Championship in 2019 and was named the 2021 AP Coach of the Year.
Vrabel is well-respected in the NFL, especially by his former coach, Belichick. They're both in the running for the Falcons' top job now, but Belichick made it clear just a few months ago how highly he values Vrabel as he was inducted into the Patriots' Hall of Fame.
"Mike's one of the players, I would say, that really benefited from free agency," said Belichick. "He was on a very good team in Pittsburgh, played behind two very good players, didn't get to play much - defensively, he played in the kicking game. We had an opportunity here. We were playing a 3-4 defense. He was a 3-4 outside linebacker. It was a good fit for him, and he had two good players ahead of him at Pittsburgh.
"So, he came here, had a great career, obviously he was a great match for Willie [McGinest]. Willie was a good complement to him. Having been through the [Carl] Banks/[Lawrence] Taylor situation at the Giants. That's a good complement to have two good outside linebackers vs. one.
Mike Vrabel is in the running with Bill Belichick for the Atlanta Falcons job (Getty Images)"Mike was a very cerebral player, smart player, played inside linebacker for us when we needed him - which wasn't often, but he could do it. He was the kind of guy that at practice would take reps at every position, free safety, strong safety, occasionally defensive line. If there was a certain player we were trying to replicate, he would jump in there and do that.
"It was competitive, especially with him and [Tom] Brady, quite entertaining at times, to be honest with you. Mike had a great personality, great love for the game, passionate, high energy, very strong. Mike's really strong, physically strong player, handled the tackles, obviously could handle tight ends, good power rusher, and had enough moves to go with it. His strength was his length his power and his intelligence. He was a good tackler."
On Vrabel's ability as a coach, Belichick added: "No surprise that he went into coaching, no surprise he's been successful. Good, smart football player and coach, good fundamentals."
Vrabel and Belichick are one of several candidates who have either gone through a second interview or have one scheduled with Atlanta. Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and Michigan head coach - and National Champion - Jim Harbaugh are scheduled for Thursday.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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