FOXBORO, Mass. — Robert Kraft would neither confirm nor deny the flood of reports linking Mike Vrabel to the Patriots.
Kraft met with the media at Gillette Stadium on Monday, some 20 hours after the organization fired head coach Jerod Mayo. Mayo went 4-13 during his first and only season and the helm, the regression causing Kraft to pull the plug.
It didn’t take long for speculation to surface that Vrabel, a Patriots Hall of Famer, was the “front-runner” for the job. Kraft, however, deflected when asked about such speculation.
“Before I make a comment like that, I don’t know all the people involved, and there are some wonderful people that we’ve heard about,” Kraft said. “So, I’d rather respond to that after I’ve seen everyone.”
Vrabel would make plenty of sense for the Patriots given he’s a proven and experienced coach, along with the fact he’s familiar with Kraft and company in Foxboro. But it seems the Patriots will do their due diligence on other head coaching candidates, including Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Robert Kraft and his son, Jonathan Kraft, will lead the coaching search, which already seems to be moving in the right direction.
