There has been a big change to the status of Mike Vrabel.
Vrabel is regarded as one of the top head coach candidates for this cycle of hires. Until Monday though, he wasn’t able to interview with teams about their vacancies. But that has changed.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Vrabel’s consulting agreement with the Cleveland Browns expired on Monday. That change makes Vrabel eligible to begin interviewing for jobs with other teams.
While candidates who are currently coaching other teams are prevented from interviewing for vacancies until after their season ends, that preclusion does not affect Vrabel, who is not currently coaching.
Vrabel has been regarded as the top head coach available, and he has been listed as the heavy favorite to land one current vacancy.
The Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets have all fired their head coaches this season, which means they can begin interviewing candidates now if they want.
Vrabel, 49, was the head coach of the Tennessee Titans from 2018-2023. He went 54-45 over that span and made the playoffs three times, including a run to the AFC Championship in 2019. The Titans have gone 3-13 this season under new head coach Brian Callahan. They had five winning campaigns in seven seasons under Vrabel and were never worse than 6-11.
