The New England Patriots, after putting together a dominant body of work in the regular season, are gearing up for their wild-card playoff matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. Under the lead of first-year head coach Mike Vrabel, the Pats posted a 14-3 record this season, which earned them the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff bracket.
There are several reasons for New England’s sudden success this season. Perhaps the biggest of the bunch is the play of second-year quarterback Drake Maye, who has blossomed into an MVP-caliber quarterback this season. One of the guys he’s worked closely with this season is passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, who is drawing interest from the Arizona Cardinals for their head coach opening. Ahead of N.E.’s big game, Vrabel addressed the Cards’ interest in Brown.
Mike Vrabel Dishes on Cardinals’ Interest in Thomas Brown
Immediately after Vrabel was hired by the Pats, he quickly worked on filling out his coaching staff. All eyes were on the offensive coordinator (Josh McDaniels) and defensive coordinator (Terrell Williams), but Vrabel made sure to find a way to bring in proven coaches who could work as assistants for him.
One guy who fit that bill was Brown, who had previously been the Chicago Bears‘ interim head coach last season after Matt Eberflus was fired midway through the year. Brown previously worked as an offensive coordinator for the Bears and the Carolina Panthers, and while things didn’t go well for him with Chicago, Vrabel made an effort to bring him to town in order to help Maye and the offense’s aerial attack.
With Maye looking like a star, teams have begun to take note of Brown’s work with New England’s passing game. That includes Arizona, which obviously needs a new had coach after it fired Jonathan Gannon earlier this week. That led to the team requesting to interview Brown for their head coach opening, and while Vrabel made it clear the team is focused on preparing for their upcoming playoff contest, he also said he would help Brown out anyway he could.
“I want the best for every single coach that’s here, I do,” Vrabel said when discussing the Cardinals’ interest in Brown. “Whenever they can talk to our coaches, we’ll approach that. I’m excited for every one of them that could get an opportunity. I’ll help them whenever I can. But our focus is obviously on the Chargers this week.”
Mike Vrabel, Patriots Hoping to Not Lose Thomas Brown to the Cardinals
GettyHead coach Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots
While Vrabel is going to do whatever he can to help his coaches out, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that, in an ideal world, they would all stick around this offseason. After all, there’s a reason why Vrabel brought all these guys with him to New England in the first place. But when a team performs at the level the Patriots have played at this season, teams across the league are going to take notice.
Brown likely isn’t the frontrunner for Arizona’s head coach opening right now, but the team’s interest in him is a sign that New England could be at risk of losing several coaches over the upcoming offseason. For now, the team is only worried about beating the Chargers, but if they lose, they could have to face questions about the makeup of their coaching staff sooner than expected.
Mike Vrabel Reacts to Cardinals Interest in Patriots Coach Before Wild Card Game