The fact that Vrabel was available made the best choice an easy one. Kraft hasn’t run an actual coaching search since 1997 when he hired Pete Carroll. The two hires that followed — Bill Belichick in 2000 and Jerod Mayo last year — were both examples of Kraft selecting people who he already knew, liked and trusted.

Robert Kraft said he put Jerod Mayo in an "untenable" situation with the Patriots, but the owner still felt that he had to move on from the coach.