The New England Patriots have hired Mike Vrabel as their next head coach.

The team announced the hiring Sunday morning. It comes a week after Patriots owner Robert Kraft fired Jerod Mayo after the team’s season-finale victory over the Buffalo Bills to finish 4-13 in his lone season as coach.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, former Houston Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton and Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson also interviewed for the job.

But Vrabel, a fan favorite during eight seasons as a player in New England where he was a member of its first three Super Bowl winners and an inductee into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2023, was the preferred candidate because of his long association with the franchise and coaching success during his six seasons in Tennessee.

In hiring the 49-year-old Vrabel, an All-Pro linebacker, Kraft is turning to another former Patriots defensive standout who, like Mayo, built a reputation as a coach for his ability to relate to players.

But Mayo, who served as assistant under former longtime Patriots coach Bill Belichick, was a first-time head coach and struggled to get results from a young roster. In explaining Mayo’s dismissal Kraft said while he thought he’d identified the successor to Belichick, that in hindsight he now believes Mayo wasn’t quite ready to be an NFL head coach.

In Vrabel’s case, however, he arrives with an NFL head coaching resume burnished by a 56-48 overall record in Tennessee from 2018 to 2023. That includes a 2-3 record in the playoffs and an AFC championship game appearance in 2019 as part of a run of three straight postseason berths. The former Ohio State standout was the Houston Texans’ defensive coordinator prior to joining the Titans.

Vrabel served in a consultant role with Cleveland this season, but his contract expired, allowing him to speak with other teams. He also was interviewed by the New York Jets.

Vrabel was also thought to be a candidate for the Las Vegas Raiders’ coaching job because of his connections with Raiders minority owner Tom Brady, but he never interviewed with Las Vegas.

Now, Vrabel will look to rebuild the franchise he’s been associated with most during his NFL career.

The Patriots have a potential franchise quarterback in Drake Maye, who showed great promise at times as a rookie. But as their season-long struggles demonstrate, they have plenty of holes on the roster. The Patriots do have a projected $130 million or so in salary cap space for next season, the most in the NFL. They also have the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft.

FAMILIAR TEAMS

The AFC divisional-round playoff matchups are set with the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Houston Texans and the Buffalo Bills at home against the Baltimore Ravens next weekend.

It’ll be the second time a conference’s final four teams are back two years in a row. Last year, the Chiefs defeated the Bills and the Ravens beat the Texans. It last happened in 2011-12 when the Texans, Patriots, Ravens and Broncos reached the divisional round in consecutive seasons.