Mike Vrabel Gives Update On Patriots’ Two Coordinator Searches

FOXBORO, Mass. — The Patriots officially introduced head coach Mike Vrabel on Monday, but the job isn’t finished.

Vrabel has to fill out the rest of his staff.

New England has yet to make official announcements regarding any of the other members of its current staff, with the new head man now having to decide which assistants he’ll keep and which he’ll bring aboard — with all others needing to find themselves a new job. Vrabel was specifically asked whether he had anyone in mind for the offensive and defensive coordinator positions, giving a definitive (if not boring) answer.

“No, that’s far from solidified,” Vrabel said.

Vrabel later went into more detail, sharing key traits he was looking for in his assistants and how the process would go alongside Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf.

“We want to put the most talented coaches in front of our players,” Vrabel said. “When they stand in front of these players, I want the players to embrace what every coach is teaching. I will tell you this, as long as I’m the head coach here, our coaches will have three simple jobs — and they sound simple, and they’re probably not as simple as we want to make them be. They want to teach, they want to develop and they want to inspire our players by making a connection.

“Eliot and I will have conversations. As it relates to the staff, nothing’s been finalized. Nothing’s been determined. As with any staff, there’s going to be turnover. There’s going to be new coaches and new faces, some that I will have history with and some that I won’t. That’s what the interview process is, and that’s what we’re going to do, as Tom (Curran) mentioned, with the coordinators and being able to sit down with a bunch of coaches and being able to get the best and the right fit around our players.”

The Patriots had a couple of notable names in attendance on Monday, as cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino and assistant offensive line coach Robert Kugler showed their support for what they hope to be their next boss.

Vrabel has been tied to a few people as it relates to the offensive coordinator (Josh McDaniels, Tommy Reese) and defensive coordinator (Shane Bowen) openings. New England hasn’t made any firm decisions yet, though you can expect them to come relatively soon.