3-Time Super Bowl Champion Open to Jets HC Job: Insider

The New York Jets have a shot at one of the best coaches available this cycle.

ESPN’s Rich Cimini, on the “Flight Deck Podcast,” emptied his notebook of all the rumors and insider nuggets he has heard about the coaching search.

“I want to start with Mike Vrabel who I think should be at or near the top of the Jets’ list. Now many people assume that Vrabel wouldn’t even consider the Jets because what is he going to do? He is going to call up one of his mentors, Bill Belichick, and ask him his opinion of the Jets. We know what Belichick is going to say, he’s going to trash the Jets and say don’t take that job if it is offered,” Cimini said. “But I’ve talked to people who know Vrabel and he has told friends that he would consider the Jets as a possibility as long as he likes the GM [general manager] that they pick. So he says he doesn’t care what Belichick thinks. He will judge the situation based on its own merit.”

Vrabel, 49, played for 14 seasons in the NFL with three different ball clubs (Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, and the Kansas City Chiefs). During his playing career, he won three Super Bowl championships.

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Vrabel Is Considered Among the Elite Options in the HC Search

ESPN NFL Insider Dan Graziano ranked the top head coaching candidates based on conversations with folks around the league.

According to Graziano, Vrabel is the second-best candidate, behind Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

“His career record as an NFL coach is 56-48 (counting the postseason), and he took the Titans to the playoffs three years in a row from 2019 to 2021. He was also named NFL Coach of the Year in 2021 after leading the Titans to a second straight division title and the AFC’s top seed. Two of his former assistants — Matt LaFleur and Arthur Smith — went on to become head coaches,” Graziano added.

Woody Johnson took over the Jets in the year 2000. Since that time, the Jets have had seven different head coaches, excluding interim Jeff Ulbrich this season.

Six of those seven coaches had never been a head coach until they were hired by the Jets. Most of them didn’t work out.

The Jets could be intrigued by someone who has not only been a head coach before but someone who has had a lot of success.

“I think Vrabel would be an outstanding choice for the Jets. He is experienced, he has won in Tennessee, he’s a tough guy, [and] I think you need to be tough in the New York market. The downside, he is not an offensive coach, he’s a defensive coach. So ideally you’d like that guy to have an offensive background but you can’t have everything I guess. but to me, he has to be at or near the top of the list,” Cimini argued.

Vrabel would bring instant credibility and a no-nonsense approach that could flip this Jets squad in 2025 with the talent on the roster.

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