Mike Vrabel reportedly used NY Jets to get Patriots HC job (and it worked)

The NY Jets brought in former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel to interview for their vacant head coach position last week, and by all accounts, the interview went very well.

Vrabel is expected to garner plenty of interest from other teams around the league, but the early word coming out of Florham Park was that the Jets had a really good chance to land the ex-Titans head coach.

There was genuine optimism that the Jets were one of the favorites to land Vrabel. That was until the New England Patriots made the decision to fire head coach Jerod Mayo on Sunday.

Mayo was Bill Belichick's hand-picked successor, but following a 4-13 season and significant outside pressure, the Patriots have decided to move on. Vrabel is widely expected to be the top candidate for the Patriots job.

And it gets even worse...

Mike Vrabel used the NY Jets to get the Patriots head coach job

CBS Sports' Aditi Kinkhabwala reported on Sunday that Vrabel intentionally took the Jets' interview in an attempt to put pressure on Patriots owner Robert Kraft. It seems his plan worked.

"Was told that Mike Vrabel’s dalliance with the Jets was to put pressure on the 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 New England job ranks high."

Aditi Kinkhabwala

If that report is to be believed, Vrabel intentionally interviewed with the Jets before the Patriots' season finale and leaked reports that the interview went well to force Kraft's hand and get him to fire Mayo.

Unfortunately for the Jets, that scenario certainly seems plausible.

Either way, with the Patriots' job now open, Vrabel is now the odds-on favorite to land in New England. That's bad news for a Jets team that seemed to believe Vrabel was seriously considering their head coach job.

Of course, nothing is certain at this time. Vrabel is expected to survey the coaching landscape and take additional interviews with teams like the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints.

That said, it would be a massive surprise if Vrabel wasn't ultimately hired by the Patriots. The only chance the Jets had at landing their reported top head coach candidate was if the Patriots' job didn't open up.

If reports are to be believed, however, it seems that was never a realistic scenario. Vrabel was just using the Jets to get the job he wanted.

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