The Official Vrabel vs Ben Johnson Discussion Thread

[RobertWeathers]

I want to know what Alonzo Highsmith's hand was in all of this.

He came on very late.

If they hire a new top guy, first interview I have is with Highsmith.

Would Highsmith throw Wolf under the bus?

Who knows. NFL FOs are so cutthroat. Lots of back-stabbing.

Wolf and Highsmith go back a ways. I tend to doubt it

 

[KDPPatsfan85]

 

[scott99]

Been murmurs Vrabel wants that KC assistant GM I believe they have some kind of history?

That would be great. I’m a BIG fan of bringing Mike Borgonzi (KC assistant GM) in here. He said being the Pat’s GM is his dream job, he’s from NE (Everett MA and went to Brown), worked for Scott Pioli in KC. Vrabel was a player in KC while Borgonzi was coming up through the ranks.

 

[DarrylS]

No matter how this ends I hope that the Krafts and Fans know it will take more than one year to rebuild this team, probably longer if Wolf does the shopping..
Have been behind Vrabel since the beginning.. but as much as Wolf is defended(heard Breer talk about how the Krafts still like him) he was very much part of our demise last year. They left something like $30 million on the table last year in Cap Money..
Not sure that Vrabel will give Wolf a very long leash..
(Edit) looks like the Pats and Vrable have an arrangement.. great news. Go Mike..

 

[RobertWeathers]

If the Patriots already had a football structure in place, there'd be a LOT more comfort with bringing on Johnson.

But right now, the best thing for the Patriots is a structure that takes as much as possible off their plate, and they need a new President. Hopefully a guy about 50 years old who would stay on and oversee things past the next coaching search.

That President can't be Jonathan

They have a structure.

What they don't have a culture and key tenants in place which define what that is.

Whether it be a President or a HC is up for debate

 

[lancerman]

....and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Right now the Kraft's have been humbled and their cheese needs to be moved.

Krafts need to embrace new perspectives and approaches. My belief is Vrabel has the outside experiences, the political savvy, communication skills, credibility, and relationships to challenge the Kraft's current thinking.

Johnson would need success but is so freaking smart he'd be convincing but doesn't have what Vrabel has going for him.

Agreed. Comfortability has been too much of a crutch for Kraft for awhile. Under normal circumstances I would be happu with Vrabel and probably would have been LAST year if he was the coach. But now it just feels like Kraft can't accept that the league is different and thinks that if he just gets enough familiar guys things will self correct back to the old ways. When the truth is, if it stopped working for Bill Belichick, it's doubtful to work for anyone else.

I get it, he's old and the idea of changing for a new league probably gets him anxious.

 

[RobertWeathers]

That would be great. I’m a BIG fan of bringing Mike Borgonzi (KC assistant GM) in here. He said being the Pat’s GM is his dream job, he’s from NE (Everett MA and went to Brown), worked for Scott Pioli in KC. Vrabel was a player in KC while Borgonzi was coming up through the ranks.

Was in the news the Titans are interviewing him.

 

[Mack Herron]

Done

 

[scott99]

So thrilled about this. Love Vrabel, and he was the top coach available. He brings toughness and intelligence. I felt Mayo wasn’t tough enough, too friendly with the players and they took advantage of his friendly nature. Vrabel won’t allow that. So happy.

 

[lancerman]

Okay good that's done. We can now hope that he is able to replicate what worked those three years on the Titans and can avoid the pitfalls. Hopefully he isn't a Josh McDaniels headcase that makes the same mistakes.

Also now we need to think about coordinators and assistants.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

He f'd up this season pretty good too

I can see no downside to letting Wolf and Groh go.

 

[Foxypats]

It's called due diligence.

And if you don't believe that then they don't want to interview two guys (a "diversity" guy to satisfy Rooney and Vrable). Then the fanbase can say they didn't conduct a thorough search. They interviewed one of the hottest HC candidates out there and yet, people like you are pissed. So, it's a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation.

I am not pissed that they interviews him per se, I just feel that if they wanted Vrabel all along then they should not have made it seem like they were un decided. That's all.

 

[Love The Drake]

Congrats
Mike
Now let’s see the staff.

 

[Zuma]

Congrats
Mike
Now let’s see the staff.

Thats what she said

 

[Huckleberry1]

Great post. My question is will Bob have the patience at his age.

Thanks. I think Bob will have more patience that this fan base. 20 years of always dominating has spoiled this fan base rotten, and if they aren’t 8-2 with every rookie putting up HOF numbers many of them will cry “ BUST!” And start screaming for changes.

One of the reasons I like the Vrabel choice is that I believe Kraft will be more inclined to stick with him long term, and the worst thing they can do is to start acting like the Jets and hiring and firing coaches and GM’s every other year. They need to give Vrabel 5 years to put this franchise back on stable ground long term. Will that happen? Who knows, but I believe they will have a really strong offseason, and next year they will be in the running for a WC spot right down to the wire. If so that will set the baseline for where they go from there, and my hope is that it will be a continued rise up the ranks until they become true contenders. This is why I don’t want them overspending out of desperation, as ultimately next season won’t matter in the overall scheme of things, and what will really matter is intelligent spending in free agency, and good drafting and development of young players.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I am not pissed that they interviews him per se, I just feel that if they wanted Vrabel all along then they should not have made it seem like they were un decided. That's all.

They have to do that, and so does every other franchise. The Rooney Rule essentially requires that teams do this. And while it might be something of a charade, it also gives candidates whose names wouldn’t get out there the notice to get coaching jobs in the future.

 

[upstater1]

Was in the news the Titans are interviewing him.

I'm a little leary about KC. They haven't exactly been drafting great, but that may be a product of #1 always picking last and #2 looking for homeruns since the roster is so talented. Also they've been trading picks for vets.

Sounds familiar.

 

[Foxypats]

They have to do that, and so does every other franchise. The Rooney Rule essentially requires that teams do this. And while it might be something of a charade, it also gives candidates whose names wouldn’t get out there the notice to get coaching jobs in the future.

I guess so, I just thought Ben would have been great for the Pats, brand new style of football and he possible would have taken Maye to new heights . Anyway, Vrabel it is and it is good that we made the decision early so we have a jump start on other franchises .

 

[rogerthat]

I’m just really giddy about the idea of Josh McDaniels developing Drake Maye to be honest. Sure he’s not a “west coast” guy so you lose some of the bootleg stuff but I think Drake will be way more successful being a cerebral passer first and foremost who tucks and runs second, not just scrambling around all over the place like Russell Wilson.

Agreed. I don’t get all the McDaniels hate on this board

 

[Huckleberry1]

I guess so, I just thought Ben would have been great for the Pats, brand new style of football and he possible would have taken Maye to new heights . Anyway, Vrabel it is and it is good that we made the decision early so we have a jump start on other franchises .

I would have been happy with Johnson as well, either are a big step up from what we witnessed this season.