Insider contradicts Pat McAfee Show report, says NFL ‘murmurs’ point Mike Vrabel to the Raiders

On Thursday, Pat McAfee co-host Connor Campbell joined ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky’s comments and said he believes Mike Vrabel has set his sights on the New England Patriots as his next coaching destination.

“The word on the street is that Vrabel wants to train in one place,” Connor Campbell said on Thursday’s show.

“This is very real. Apparently Vrabel is very interested in becoming the head coach of the New England Patriots…I think that’s what Orlovsky was talking about when he said Vrabel might already have a spot.”

Vrabel played eight seasons with the Patriots and it wouldn’t be hard to imagine a scenario where New England would be his preferred destination.

But according to Brian Costello of the New York Post, there are rumors around the league that the Raiders are the team most likely to hire Vrabel as their next head coach.

“I think Vrabel is on his way to the Raiders,” Costello said on the gang’s “All Here” podcast. “Right now I would predict he goes to the Raiders because I think the Tom Brady connection will be strong there. That’s where the buzz around the league drives him. Las Vegas.”

If you’re keeping track, Vrabel has now been linked to the Raiders, Patriots and Chicago Bears.

The Bears and Patriots appear to have the better quarterback situations right now, but as Costello pointed out, Tom Brady’s involvement could be a factor in who Vrabel chooses as coach next year.

In his first stint as head coach, Vrabel went 54-45 with the Titans, and his tenure at Tennessee unexpectedly ended in January of this year. There were rumors that Vrabel did not work well with first-year GM Ran Carthon and team owner Amy Adams Strunk.

Whatever led to Vrabel being fired in Tennessee, it’s safe to assume he wants to work with a GM and owner he’s comfortable with. It’s unclear what Vrabel’s relationship with Raiders owner Mark Davis and GM Tom Telesco is, but Brady is expected to be heavily involved in the organization as a minority owner.

Pro Football Post reported in November that Vrabel was the top candidate on the Raiders’ radar if Antonio Pierce were fired, and based on Costello’s comments, that still appears to be the case.

The question now is: Can Pierce do enough in the final two games of the regular season to keep his job and return for a second season with the Raiders?

x: @raidersbeat