Mike Vrabel vs. Ben Johnson: Comparing the Patriots' top two head coaching candidates (original) (raw)
Sunday’s Week 18 win by the Patriots over the Bills at Gillette Stadium feels like an eternity ago, doesn’t it?
With former first-year head coach Jerod Mayo’s swift dismissal coming less than two hours after his team’s fourth victory on the season, and Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft holding a press conference to discuss the firing on Monday morning, the organization has shown that they’re more than ready to move on from the disastrous 2024 season - a season that has landed the Patriots in the No. 4 position for the 2025 NFL Draft.
“I don't like losing,” Kraft said on Monday. “I don't like losing the way we lost. Things were not developing the way we would have liked. It was time to move on.”
Foxborough, MA - January 6: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft addresses the media a day after firing head coach Jerod Mayo. Photo credit Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
Move on, indeed, as the Patriots have already interviewed four different candidates for their head coaching vacancy over the course of four days:
- Tuesday - Longtime NFL assistant coach Pep Hamilton, and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich
- Thursday - Former Titans head coach and Patriots Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Vrabel
- Friday - Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson
It’s also been reported that Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn received an interview request from the Patriots, but the 52-year-old turned down the opportunity to squeeze New England into his small window of time to conduct interviews.
With Glenn in the midst of the postseason with Detroit as the NFC’s top-seed, the Lions reportedly only allowed for Glenn and Johnson to interview with teams between Thursday afternoon and Saturday. With Glenn already agreeing to five other head coaching interview requests, the Patriots did not make the cut.
As of Friday afternoon, all the reporting around the Patriots’ head coaching search suggests that Vrabel and Johnson are the top two candidates for the job. ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported on Thursday evening that Vrabel’s interview with the Krafts happened in Boston, while the team announced on social media Friday that their interview with Johson was conducted virtually - per league rules given his current employment status.
With both individuals holding varying levels of accomplishments during their respective careers in football, the juxtaposition of Vrabel and Johnson as candidates is an interesting angle to unpack.
So let's unpack it.
Photo credit Getty Images
Mike Vrabel
Age: 49
Specialty: Defense
College: Ohio State (1993-96)
NFL Playing Career: Pittsburgh Steelers (1997-2000), New England Patriots (2001-08), Kansas City Chiefs (2009-10)
Coaching Career: Ohio State Linebackers Coach (2011), Ohio State Defensive Line Coach (2012-13), Texans Linebackers Coach (2014-16), Texans Defensive Coordinator (2017), Titans Head Coach (2018-23) Browns Coaching & Personnel Consultant (2024)
As you all know, Vrabel is already a Patriots legend.
Enshrined into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2023, Vrabel won three Super Bowls with New England during his eight seasons in Foxborough. His best season came in 2007, being voted to the Pro Bowl and selected as a first-team All-Pro linebacker. He’s a member of the Patriots All-2000s Team, 50th Anniversary Team, and All-Dynasty Team. And while many members of that vaunted dynasty defense have been more celebrated, Vrabel is routinely cited by his former teammates as the tone-setter for their unit.
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 22: Former player Mike Vrabel speaks during a New England Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony during halftime of the game against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on October 22, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Photo credit Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Immediately upon retiring from playing, Vrabel went back to his alma mater to enter the coaching ranks, joining the defensive staff of Ohio State interim head coach Luke Fickell as a linebackers coach for the 2011 season. When Fickell left after one season, legendary college football coach Urban Meyer took over the program, retaining Vrabel as his defensive line coach for the next two seasons.
Leading into the 2014 football season, Texans first-year head coach Bill O’Brien hired Vrabel to be his linebackers coach, with the two of them previously crossing paths in New England when O’Brien was an offensive assistant. After three successful seasons at that post - coaching Brian Cushing to a 110-tackle season in 2015 and Whitney Mercilus to an All-Pro selection in 2016 - Vrabel was promoted to defensive coordinator for Houston ahead of the 2017 season.
After one season as the head of Houston’s defense, Vrabel was poached away by the Titans to be their next head coach, inheriting a franchise that had hovered around .500-or-worse for a decade.
By his second season, Vrabel had the Titans back in the postseason. Not only did he coach Tennessee to a 20-13 victory in the Wild Card Round at Gillette Stadium in Tom Brady’s final game as a member of the Patriots, he had his team playing in the 2019 AFC Championship Game two weeks later, putting a scare into the Chiefs in a 35-24 loss at Arrowhead.
He followed that up with consecutive double-digit-win seasons, going 11-5 in 2020 and 12-5 in 2021 as the AFC’s top seed. That 2021 season led to Vrabel winning NFL Coach of the Year, with his defense improving from 24th to sixth year-over-year, and doing so while the team dealt with a record-number of injuries. Vrabel fielded a record 91 (!) different players that season, yet still ended up with the best record in the conference.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 10: Mike Vrabel receives the AP Coach of the Year Award at the NFL Honors show at the YouTube Theater on February 10, 2022 in Inglewood, California. Photo credit Michael Owens/Getty Images
Most impressive of all?
He did all that winning with Ryan Tannehill as his quarterback, leaning on an old-school ground-and-pound style that showcased running back Derrick Henry as one of the best players of his generation.
After finishing below .500 in 2022 and 2023, Vrabel had a well-documented falling out with Titans ownership, ultimately leading to his ousting after six seasons on the job. After going 41-24 in his first four seasons on the job in Tennessee, a 13-21 record over his final two seasons was not good enough to stay on in Nashville.
In 2024, Vrabel worked as a consultant on Kevin Stefanski’s staff in Cleveland - which, if you read the Akron Beacon Journal’s story on what Vrabel’s role entailed, seemingly had the 49-year-old relatively hands-off for the team’s 3-14 season.
Hands off or not, this allowed Vrabel to stay involved in the game this season, as he was passed over for multiple head coaching openings last offseason.
Vrabel is a proven winner, and someone who will establish a tough culture from day one on the job in New England. That’s who he was as a player, and that mindset has translated over to his personality as a head coach.
And after the season New England just had under Mayo, it’s time for the organization to bring an adult in the room and clean things up.
NASHVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 03: Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel coaches during the NFL game between the Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts on December 3, 2023, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN. Photo credit Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
Ben Johnson
Age: 38
Specialty: Offense
College: North Carolina (2004-07)
NFL Playing Career: N/A
Coaching Career: Boston College Graduate Assistant (2009-10), Boston College Tight Ends Coach (2011), Dolphins Offensive Assistant (2012), Dolphins Assistant Quarterbacks Coach (2013-15), Dolphins Tight Ends Coach (2015), Dolphins Assistant Wide Receivers Coach (2016-17), Dolphins Wide Receivers Coach (2018), Lions Offensive Quality Control Coach (2019), Lions Tight Ends Coach (2020-21) Lions Passing Game Coordinator (2021), Lions Offensive Coordinator (2022-present)
Johnson has nowhere near the resume that Vrabel does as a player, as the 38-year-old never came close to reaching the pros.
After a successful high school football career in Asheville, NC - winning a state championship as a junior and conference player of the year as a senior - Johnson was a walk-on at the University of North Carolina, where he was a reserve quarterback behind future NFL starter T.J. Yates.
With his playing career behind him, Johnson dove right into coaching, moving up to Chestnut Hill and joining Frank Spaziani’s staff at Boston College as a graduate assistant from 2009 to 2010, then as tight ends coach in 2011.
From there, Johnson was hired by the Dolphins, where he held a variety of offensive assistant roles from 2012 to 2018. But most importantly, this is where Johnson met future Lions head coach Dan Campbell, with the two serving as offensive assistants together from 2012 to 2015. When Campbell was promoted to interim head coach in the middle of the 2015 season, he promoted Johnson to replace him as tight ends coach.
PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 8: Assistant quarterbacks coach Ben Johnson of the Miami Dolphins looks on from the sideline during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on December 8, 2013 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Dolphins defeated the Steelers 34-28. Photo credit George Gojkovich/Getty Images
When Campbell wasn’t retained after the 2015 season, Johnson stayed aboard under new head coach Adam Gase. He spent the next three seasons working with their receivers, but was ultimately let go by the organization after Gase was fired following the 2018 season.
After his time in South Beach, Johnson was hired by then-head coach Matt Patricia in Detroit, starting out as their quality control coach in 2019, then as a tight ends coach in 2020. With Patricia being fired after the 2020 season, Detroit hired his old friend Campbell, who retained his former Miami co-worker as the team’s tight ends coach for the 2021 season. In addition to tight end duties, Campbell appointed Johnson as the team’s passing game coordinator in the middle of the 2021 season, as Anthony Lynn was stripped of his play calling duties after the team started the year 0-8.
Despite the team’s record remaining poor, Detroit began to be more competitive as the 2021 season went along, prompting Campbell to hand over the offensive coordinator position to Johnson ahead of the 2022 season.
His first year as the team’s OC coincided with Detroit having its first winning season since 2017, and saw quarterback Jared Goff make a real leap as a player for the first time since his Super Bowl season with Sean McVay and the Rams in 2018. They finished that season 9-8, but were everyone’s trendy “new-team-in-the-playoffs-pick” heading into the 2023 season.
They lived up to that billing, as the Lions went 12-5 on their way to a loss in the NFC Championship Game. On top of that, Johnson helped bring the Lions offense up yet another level, with Detroit finishing third in total offense, second in passing, fifth in rushing, and fifth in scoring.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - OCTOBER 27: Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and head coach Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions talk prior to a game against the Tennessee Titans at Ford Field on October 27, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. Photo credit Mike Mulholland/Getty Images
After a heavy flirtation with the Washington Commanders for their head coaching vacancy, Johnson ultimately opted to stay in Detroit as OC for the 2024. And at the moment, that’s looking like a good decision.
Detroit finished the regular season 15-2, winning the NFC North and securing the No. 1 seed in the NFC. They’ll be the lone team in their conference with a first round bye, and will play the lowest remaining seed in the divisional round at Ford Field. This also secures them homefield advantage for the NFC Championship Game, should they advance past round two.
Much of Detroit’s supreme team success in 2024 came at the hands of their high-powered offense, as an astonishing 13 players on the defensive side of the ball are listed on IR heading into the postseason. Without Johnson’s innovation on the offensive side of the football, this team would be toast.
But with Johnson, they’re avocado toast:
- Lead the NFL in touchdowns with 70 on the season - five more than the next closest offense
- First in scoring, averaging 33.2 points per game
- Second in total offense (409.5 yards per game)
- Second in passing offense (263.2 passing yards per game)
- Third in red zone offense, with a red zone touchdown rate of 69.4%
- Sixth in rushing offense (146.4 rushing yards per game)
Let’s put that side-by-side with the Patriots 2024 offense, shall we?
- In a three-way tie with the Raiders and Giants for second-fewest touchdowns scored this season, only getting in the end zone 30 times in 17 games (40 less (!) than the Lions)
- 30th in scoring, averaging a mere 17 points per game
- 30th in red zone offense, with a red zone touchdown rate of 46.8%
- 31st in total offense (291.9 yards per game)
- 32nd in passing offense (176.2 passing yards per game)
- 13th in rushing offense, thanks in large-part to Drake Maye’s escapability (115.8 rushing yards per game)
The specter of adding an offensive mind to this organization like Johnson’s has fans excited, but Johnson is considered by many around the NFL as the top head coaching candidate available.
But one thing the Patriots have that these other teams with openings do not:
Drake Maye.
Is the prospect of working with an exciting young quarterback enough to entice the 38-year-old to a situation that feels barren outside of the QB room?
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - DECEMBER 15: Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson of the Detroit Lions looks on in the fourth quarter of a game against the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field on December 15, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. Photo credit Mike Mulholland/Getty Images
Is Johnson’s prowess as an offensive mind enough to dissuade them from hiring the franchise legend in Vrabel?
Is it time for an offensive guru, or a culture builder with a proven track record of success as the head of an operation?
Stay locked in to WEEI and WEEI.com for all the latest on the NFL coaching carousel.