Nothing happens in a vacuum in the NFL. That includes Mike Vrabel's interview with the New York Jets last Friday for their head coach opening.
While Jerod Mayo still was the Patriots' head coach at the time, Vrabel's interview with the team's AFC East rival raised eyebrows in New England amid speculation that Vrabel could be a prime candidate for the Patriots' coaching job if they decided to move on from Mayo.
And as our Patriots Insider Phil Perry reported Sunday on Patriots Postgame Live, Vrabel seemingly was well aware of what he was doing.
"There are several people in the league that I've spoken to who believed and who saw that move as calculated by Vrabel," Perry said, as seen in the video player above. "(They saw it as) Vrabel shaking his tail feather from a few hundred miles away down in Jersey at the Krafts and letting them know, 'If you want me, you might have to act fast, or you'll have to deal with me in the division for the next decade, potentially.'
"(Firing Mayo) is one way of making sure you're ready to go when it comes to the Mike Vrabel sweepstakes."
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If Vrabel was trying to put pressure on Patriots owner Robert Kraft by interviewing with the Jets, he succeeded: New England announced Mayo's firing just one hour after the Patriots' season-ending win over the Buffalo Bills in a stunning turn of events for a coach whom Kraft hand-picked to be Bill Belichick's successor.
The swiftness of Mayo's firing sends a strong signal that the Krafts want every option available to them in their upcoming coaching search -- and perhaps wanted to ensure they wouldn't miss out on Vrabel.
Former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson, who spent four seasons as Vrabel's teammate in New England, wholeheartedly agreed with Perry that Vrabel was using the Jets as leverage.
"Absolutely, 100 percent. I feel it in my bones," Johnson said on Postgame Live. "That was Vrabes shaking his heinie. That's exactly what he was doing. He wanted to get the attention of the Patriots."
Johnson also added that he spent time with Vrabel last October during Vrabel's induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame -- during which Vrabel made a passionate speech to fans at Gillette Stadium -- got the feeling that the 49-year-old would be very interested in returning to New England if given the opportunity.
"I hung out with him for a while when he was inducted in the Patriots Hall of Fame last year, and I'm talking to him, and I just got the sense that he kind of missed it here," Johnson said of Vrabel. "He was really kind of reflective and seemed like he missed the good old days when he was a Patriot. And Patriots fans know at his Hall of Fame speech at halftime, what he said to to the fans there; it felt like he really missed being here.
"I have no doubt that Mike probably wants to come here and coach here, because I just think he liked his experience when he was here. He sees the potential that he has with the current roster right now.
"So, to me, that was very much a calculated thing. And don't kid yourself: That was maybe in part why the Patriots made the decision as fast as they did."
Perry and Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran also have reported that Vrabel has interest in coaching the Patriots. So, while the team will need to conduct a full interview process, Vrabel's name is worth watching closely.
