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Mike Vrabel is focused on winning his first-ever Super Bowl as a head coach, but he was already honored this week in San Francisco.
The New England Patriots head coach was named Coach of the Year at the NFL Honors on Thursday night.
Vrabel won the award over his opponent on Sunday in Super Bowl LX, Seattle Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald, San Francisco 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan, Jacksonville Jaguars’ Liam Coen, and Chicago Bears’ Ben Johnson.
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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 Jan. 25, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
This is the second time in Vrabel’s coaching career that he has won the award. He received 19 of the 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 ever 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 moved on, Vrabel didn’t take a job elsewhere in the NFL. Instead, he waited a year and the Patriots moved on after just a single season under Jerod Mayo.
The Patriots had just won four games for the second straight season, and it’s their first without Bill Belichick at the helm. So, owner Robert Kraft went with another familiar face and former Super Bowl champion, this time with head coaching experience already.
Head coach Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots speaks with Drake Maye #10 during the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 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. It’s the biggest turnaround in a single season in NFL history, tied with the 1999 Indianapolis Colts and 2008 Miami Dolphins, who also saw 10-win improvements.
Vrabel was also able to see a perfect 9-0 record on the road, including the playoffs, becoming the first NFL team in history to do so.
Vrabel, of course, would point to his team when talking about his candidacy, but he would be right to look at quarterback Drake Maye, an MVP finalist at the NFL Honors on Thursday night with him. Maye, in just his second season, showcased why he was a top choice out of UNC with his consistency, poise and play-making abilities under offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ scheme.
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel watches during the first half of the AFC Championship NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
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Vrabel and the Patriots are not yet complete with their 2025 NFL season. They still have one game left to play — Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, where Vrabel is hoping to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the first time since he last touched it as a Patriots linebacker in 2004.
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