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Mike Vrabel is focused on winning his first-ever Super Bowl as a head coach, but he’s already been honored this week in San Francisco.
The New England Patriots head coach was named Coach of the Year at NFL Honors on Thursday night.
Vrabel won the award against his opponent Sunday at Super Bowl LX, Mike Macdonald of the Seattle Seahawks, Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers, Liam Coen of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Ben Johnson of the Chicago Bears.
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New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel celebrates after the AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High on January 25, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
This is the second time in his coaching career that Vrabel has won this award. He received 19 of 50 first place votes and had a total of 302 points.
Vrabel first won the award while leading the Tennessee Titans in 2021.
Vrabel is now the seventh coach to win Coach of the Year for multiple franchises, joining Chuck Nox, Bill Parcells, Bruce Arians, Dan Reeves, Don Shula and George Allen.
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When the Titans left, Vrabel did not accept a position elsewhere in the NFL. Instead, he waited a year and the Patriots left after just one season under Jerod Mayo.
The Patriots had just won four games for the second straight season, and this is their first without Bill Belichick at the helm. So, owner Robert Kraft opted for another familiar face and former Super Bowl champion, this time with previous head coaching experience.
Head coach Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots talks with Drake Maye #10 during the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium on September 7, 2025 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Under his tutelage this season, Vrabel led the Patriots to a 14-3 regular season record, tied for the best record in the NFL. This is the largest single-season turnaround in NFL history, tied with the 1999 Indianapolis Colts and 2008 Miami Dolphins, who also had a 10-win improvement.
Vrabel was also able to go a perfect 9-0 on the road, including in the playoffs, becoming the first team in the NFL to do so.
Vrabel, of course, would point the finger at his team when talking about his candidacy, but he’d be right to watch quarterback Drake Maye, an MVP finalist at the NFL Honors on Thursday night with him. Maye, in just his second season, showed why he was a top pick out of UNC with his consistency, balance and playmaking ability under offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ scheme.
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel watches the first half of the AFC NFL Championship football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Vrabel and the Patriots have yet to complete their 2025 NFL season. They still have one game left: Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, where Vrabel hopes to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the first time since he last touched it as a Patriots linebacker in 2004.
