Mike Vrabel prepares for playoff matchup against Chargers team that nearly hired him

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Mike Vrabel prepares for playoff matchup against Chargers team that nearly hired him

Mark Daniels · MassLive

Mon, Jan 5, 2026 ·

2 min read

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FOXBOROUGH – There was a time not too long ago when Mike Vrabel was close to becoming the next head coach of the Los Angeles Charters.

After being let go by Tennessee , Vrabel interviewed for the Chargers head-coaching vacancy. The veteran head coach made a good impression with ownership, but one thing stopped him from getting the job - Jim Harbaugh wanted to return to the NFL.

The Chargers ultimately hired Harbaugh, and a year later, Vrabel came to New England . Now, the Patriots head coach prepares to face the team that nearly hired him in next weekend’s wild-card round .

On Monday, Vrabel said there’s no extra motivation in facing the Chargers.

“No. No,” Vrabel said on Monday. “Everything that I do and every second that I spend preparing will be to help the players. That’s a well-run organization. The Spanos family is a good one. No, no extra motivation.”

The 2021 NFL Coach of the Year, Vrabel, was considered a top candidate when let go by the Titans in 2024. He interviewed with the Chargers and the Atlanta Falcons and ultimately accepted a coaching and personnel consultant position with the Cleveland Browns .

Speaking on the Pardon My Take podcast, Vrabel said he had respect for Chargers owners Dean and Susie Spanos after they called him to let him know he didn’t get the job.

“Thought I had a great interview in L.A. for the Chargers, and Harbaugh decided to come back to the NFL,” Vrabel said on Pardon My Take. “That’s what Mr. and Mrs. Spanos communicated with me. I respect them for that. They literally called me on a speaker phone, and that rarely happens, where if an owner is going to interview you and then go in a different direction that they’ll personally call you. And they were like, ‘second place isn’t going to give you much, but wanted to tell you we just had an opportunity to hire Jim Harbaugh.’”

In the end, it worked out for Vrabel and the Patriots .

After beating the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Vrabel became one of three coaches in NFL history to win 14 games in his first season with a team. He joins George Seifert (1989 with San Francisco ) and Jim Caldwell (2009 with Indianapolis ).

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