Did the New England Patriots violate the Rooney Rule in hiring Mike Vrabel? Uncover the controversy shaking up their hiring process.

Analyzing decisions made by NFL teams is inherently an exercise in asking to be cold takes roasted down the road. Whether it's preseason picks, week-to-week selections, draft grades or commentary on coaching hires,

The NFL’s Rooney Rule is a worthy idea clumsily executed. Established in 2003 and tweaked in 2021, it requires teams to interview at least two minority candidates in person before they are permitted to hire a head coach.

CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones says a well-intended rule is no longer useful as teams find ways to skirt it

For some of those teams, that will involve finding new head coaches and/or General Managers. Three teams fired their head coaches during the season and two more have been dispatched as of 9 a.m. ET on January 6.

Mike Vrabel interviewed with the Jets, but there was another team also looming to pursue him before the Patriots hired him.

Mike Vrabel was the top head coaching candidate in the 2025 cycle and for good reason. After a 14-year NFL career that saw him win three Super Bowls, make a Pro Bowl and be selected to an All-Pro team,

Earlier this month, the New England Patriots made it official that Mike Vrabel would be their 16th head coach in the history of the organization. But just how long was this plan in the works? While the Patriots organization did bring in other candidates for their head coaching vacancy,

The recruitment of Liam Coen by the Jaguars really does seem like a Coen brothers film. Beyond the impact of an unenforceable side deal that his new contract with the Buccaneers was contingent on Coen not going to Jacksonville for an in-person interview, the Jaguars benefited from Coen making a secret trip to Duval County.

Numerous NFL insiders spoke out in a similar fashion about the Patriots organization largely interviewing Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton solely to satisfy the Rooney Rule, which makes all teams ...