The New England Patriots have hired Mike Vrabel as their head coach.
The team announced the hiring Sunday morning, a week after Patriots owner Robert Kraft fired Jerod Mayo following the team’s season-ending victory over the Buffalo Bills. Mayo finished 4-13 in his lone season.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, former Houston Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton and Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson also interviewed for the job.
But Vrabel, a fan favorite during eight seasons as a player in New England where he was a member of its first three Super Bowl winners and an inductee into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2023, was the preferred candidate because of his long association with the franchise and coaching success during his six seasons with Tennessee.
In hiring the 49-year-old Vrabel, Kraft is turning to another former Patriots defensive standout who, like Mayo, built a reputation as a coach for his ability to relate to players.
But Mayo, who served as assistant under former longtime Patriots coach Bill Belichick, was a first-time head coach and struggled to get results from a young roster led by rookie quarterback Drake Maye. In explaining Mayo’s dismissal, Kraft said that while he thought he’d identified the successor to Belichick, in hindsight he believes Mayo wasn’t quite ready to be an NFL head coach.
Vrabel, however, arrives with a resume burnished by a 56-48 overall record with Tennessee from 2018 to 2023. That includes a 2-3 record in the playoffs and an AFC championship game appearance in 2019 as part of a run of three straight postseason berths.
Vrabel served as a consultant for Cleveland this season, but his contract expired, allowing him to speak with other teams. He also was interviewed by the New York Jets and Chicago Bears, who are still seeking coaches. Vrabel was also thought to be a candidate for the Las Vegas Raiders' coaching job because of his connections with Raiders minority owner Tom Brady, but he never interviewed with Las Vegas.
Now, Vrabel will look to rebuild the franchise he’s been associated with most during his NFL career.
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FILE - Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel argues a call during the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
Three Israeli men held hostage in the Gaza Strip are set to be released on Saturday in exchange for more than 300 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
It's the latest indication that the fragile ceasefire deal, which teetered in recent days, will hold. Nearly all the 73 remaining hostages are men, including Israeli soldiers, and about half are believed to be dead.
The two sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19, freeing 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners so far during the first phase of the truce. The war could resume if no agreement is reached on the more complicated second phase, which calls for the return of all remaining hostages captured in Hamas' attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and an indefinite extension of the truce.
Here's the latest:
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Dozens of masked and armed Hamas fighters have gathered in the southern Gaza Strip for the release of three Israeli hostages.
As with previous exchanges, a stage was set up and the area was festooned with Palestinian flags and the banners of militant factions. Nearby was the shell of a heavily damaged multistory building.
The militants are expected to parade the hostages before crowds and cameras before handing them over to the Red Cross, which will transport them to Israeli forces.
All three hostages set to be released are men who were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where some 80 of roughly 400 residents were taken hostage during the Oct. 7 attack.
Iair Horn, 46, is a dual citizen of Israel and Argentina. He was abducted along with his brother, Eitan Horn, who was staying with him at the time. Eitan remains in captivity.
Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, is an American-Israeli had was working outside when militants stormed the kibbutz. His wife hid in a safe room with their two daughters. She gave birth to their third daughter two months later.
Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29, who holds Israeli and Russian citizenship, was taken hostage along with his grandmother, mother and girlfriend. The three women were released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023. Troufanov’s father was killed in the Oct. 7 attack.
Among the most prominent of the more than 300 Palestinian prisoners set to be released is Ahmed Barghouti, 48, a close aide of militant leader and iconic Palestinian political figure Marwan Barghouti.
Israel sentenced Ahmed Barghouti to life on charges that he dispatched suicide bombers during the Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, in the early 2000s to carry out attacks that killed Israeli civilians. He was arrested alongside Marwan Barghouti in 2002.
The ceasefire appeared dangerously close to collapse in recent days.
Hamas said it would delay the release of the hostages after accusing Israel of not adhering to their agreement by not allowing in enough shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment for clearing rubble, while Israel said it would resume fighting Saturday unless hostages were freed.
Trump’s proposal to remove some 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and settle them elsewhere in the region threw the truce’s future into further doubt. Trump has proposed that once the fighting ends, Israel would transfer control of Gaza to the United States, which would then redevelop it as the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
The idea has been welcomed by Israel’s government, whose far-right members are already calling for a resumption of the war after the first phase with the goal of destroying Hamas and implementing Trump’s plan. But it has been strongly rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, and human rights groups say it could amount to a war crime under international law.
Hamas may be unwilling to release any more hostages if it believes the war will resume. The captives are among the only bargaining chips it has left.
A demonstrator holding photos of freed Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi before and after his captivity blocks a highway during a protest demanding all hostages release from Hamas captivity, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Israeli captive Eli Sharabi, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians gather to attend the Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Graffiti on Israel's separation barrier depicts the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Palestinians gather to attend Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
People holding posters with photos of Israelis hostages Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami, react at the so-called "hostages square" as they watch their release live on a television screen in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
