Browns Consultant Named Candidate for Raiders HC Job

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Antonio Pierce walking on the field

Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel served as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns in 2024. Vrabel, one of the hottest names on the head coaching market, should have multiple options to pick from. It was a surprise he didn’t get a job last offseason, but he’s regarded as one of the top options available this time around.

On Jan. 7, the Las Vegas Raiders fired Antonio Pierce, opening another head coaching job around the NFL. The Raiders, one of the most historic franchises in NFL history, could love a defensive and tough-minded coach like Vrabel.

It’s still early in the Raiders process, but them meeting with Vrabel in the immediate future should be in their plans, as he’d be the ideal fit.

Searching for options to replace Pierce, Vic Tafur of The Athletic named Vrabel as a potential candidate to fill the position.

“Vrabel was largely successful throughout his six-year run as Titans head coach from 2018 to 2023. He posted a 54-45 record, made the playoffs three times and won the AFC South twice. A four-year drought without a postseason victory and back-to-back losing seasons, however, ultimately did him in, and he interviewed for four jobs last year without getting one.

“Raiders minority owner Tom Brady and Vrabel were teammates with the New England Patriots from 2001 to ’08, so there’s a lot of built-in familiarity there. Vrabel, 49, spent this season as a coaching and personnel consultant for the Cleveland Browns and is considered a leading candidate to replace the fired Jerod Mayo in New England,” Tafur wrote on January 7.

Is Vrabel to the New England Patriots a Done Deal?

The New England Patriots fired Jerod Mayo after his first season with the team. Instantly, Vrabel, a former Patriots player, became the favorite around the league to take that job.

There seems to be mutual interest from the Cleveland Browns consultant. According to Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports, Vrabel’s meeting with the New York Jets was to put pressure on the Patriots to make a move, which they eventually made.

“Was told that Mike Vrabel’s dalliance w/Jets was to put pressure on Patriots to make a move. With a young, incredibly promising QB (who improved every week despite very little talent around him), more cap space than anyone and stable ownership, of course the NE job ranks high,” Kinkhabwala wrote on January 5.

Could the Browns Eventually Make a Coaching Change?

If the Cleveland Browns were planning to fire head coach Kevin Stefanski, that likely would’ve happened already.

However, the Browns have to be careful not to let other great coaches like Vrabel land with different teams and fire Stefanski a year later.

In Stefanski’s defense, there wasn’t much he could’ve done. The Browns weren’t a competitive team due to the roster, and most coaches would’ve struggled with what he was handed.

However, another rough year could be the ending of the relationship. The Athletic’s Zac Jackson wrote that there’s internal pressure for Stefanski and others to figure this thing out.

“For Berry and Stefanski, there’s presumably high internal pressure and certainly low external trust in the wake of this past season. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett has publicly threatened to request a trade if the Browns can’t provide him a plan to return to contention immediately, and the only thing worse in Cleveland than being the GM who traded for Watson would be becoming the GM who traded away Garrett,” Jackson wrote on January 6.