A Hero Returns: Mike Vrabel’s Potential Homecoming Sparks Excitement Among Patriots’ Fans
Robert Kraft made the decision to move on from head coach Jerod Mayo immediately after New England’s final regular season game, ending his tenure after just a single season.
It was a decision Patriots fans overwhelmingly agree with.
Eighty-nine percent of voters said that firing Mayo was the right decision.
Moving on from Mayo caused a 30-point spike in fan confidence, the biggest jump since the Patriots defeated the Chicago Bears earlier this season. Just 13-percent of fans said they were confident in the direction of the team entering Week 18. That number rose to 43 percent following the departure of the head coach.
While 43 percent is an improvement, it is still ten points lower than the 53-percent mark when the initial 53-man roster was finalized for this season.
Now on the search for a new coach, the Patriots quickly narrowed the process to two main candidates: former Patriots linebacker and Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and current Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Patriots fans overwhelmingly want Vrabel to be the new head coach. Sixty-six percent of respondents picked him to be their choice when asked.
Johnson garnered just 22 percent of the vote, while 10 percent of fans picked the “other” option. Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, who was requested to interview but later denied the request, got one percent, as did former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich who met with the team earlier this week. Pep Hamilton, the fifth coach tied to the opening, garnered minimal fan support.
Even though FanDuel Sportsbook offers no odds on who the next Patriots head coach will be, Vrabel seems like the favorite to earn the job — something that apparently would make a majority of fans quite happy.
