5 NFL teams that should hire Mike Vrabel before he leaves for Ohio State

It is only a matter of time before the Cleveland Browns are eliminated from playoff contention. Through the first 13 weeks of the 2024 NFL season, four teams have been eliminated from the postseason: Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots and New York Giants. Cleveland is 3-9 on the year and going nowhere fast. I would not be shocked if Mike Vrabel left soon.

With the former Tennessee Titans head coach's alma mater of Ohio State potentially opening up after one more marquee game meltdown at the hands of Ryan Day, Vrabel may be the top candidate for that gig. It really comes down to if the Browns assistant on Kevin Stefanski's staff wants to go back to college. I would rather go with another Ohio State alum in Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman.

For my money, I would venture to guess that Vrabel will end up leading one of the many teams that end up having head-coaching vacancies in the NFL next year. Unless Ohio State throws up all over itself in the first round of the College Football Playoff, I don't see the Buckeyes moving on from Day after this season. It could happen, but I am not counting on it. I am counting on Vrabel to stick around.

Since I doubt the Browns will promote him from within, here are five teams how need to hire the guy.

5. Chicago Bears

The best thing the Chicago Bears could ever do besides The McCaskeys selling the team would be to hire someone like Vrabel to be their head coach. He is an alpha male who specializes in coaching up defense and is a great in-game tactician. If he were to come to Chicago, Vrabel would be every bit as good as what Bears fan still convince themselves about how good Mike Ditka was for them in 1985.

Vrabel is the type of head coach who would walk into Halas Hall and tell everyone in the facility to shut up and listen to him. He would not have to do it, but Vrabel would be the galvanizing catalyst akin to what Nick Saban was when he took over at Alabama. That fanbase and the boosters that propped the program up were so fractured in the mid-2000s. Look at what they did up until literally this year.

If Caleb Williams is ever going to achieve all that he can in Chicago, Vrabel has to be his head coach.

4. Las Vegas Raiders

After what we have seen this season, the Las Vegas Raiders need to admit they made a huge mistake in promoting Antonio Pierce from within. They need to go out and hire a real head coach if they want to be taken seriously as a franchise again. Las Vegas has talent, but the Silver and Black need to draft a quarterback in the worst way possible. I would trust Vrabel to be able to identify the right prospect.

Because they are in the same division as the Kansas City Chiefs, one of the teams Vrabel played for during his pro career as a linebacker, that always makes taking over an AFC West team so difficult. Not to say that he is ideal to lead the NFL's rebel franchise, but Vrabel does give off an aura that leads me to believe that circumstances would chance for the team. It will get better under him eventually.

The Raiders need to hire a new head coach, but I am afraid that Vrabel would have far better options.

3. New York Jets

As it is with the Chicago Bears, it is not going to make a damn bit of difference who the New York Jets hire to replace Robert Saleh unless ownership changes hands. That could be in play with Woody Johnson potentially being an ambassador for the President-Elect. For my money, Vrabel is the only candidate the Jets could hire to potentially keep Aaron Rodgers around, if that is the plan to do so.

Whenever the Jets have been good at various points in my lifetime, they have been led by an outspoken defensive-minded head coach. It is not always sustainable, as the pen usually ends up being mightier than the sword. However, Vrabel would have a chance to be the best head coach in franchise history. Yes, I am going as far back as Weeb Ewbank was coaching up Joe Namath, folks!

Everything the Jets want and aspire to attain would actually be somewhat possible with Vrabel there.

2. New York Giants

Of all the places where I think Vrabel could land, the New York Giants are the one where I think he ends up. The Giants still have a respected brand in the sport because of yesteryear, even though they absolutely do not deserve it right now. This team is tanking. They stink to high heaven. Expect for Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen to be out after this season. The entry point would be ideal for Vrabel.

He would be able to draft a quarterback who did not play for David Cutcliffe in college. As it is with any team picking inside the top eight, I would trust Vrabel's judgment to be able to identify the right signal-caller for the Giants' future. The Giants are the Jets with three more Lombardi Trophies. There is not much separating the two, but tradition and prestige would make anyone a sucker for this team.

The Giants have a shot to hire their best head coach since Bill Parcells if they ended up with Vrabel.

1. Cincinnati Bengals

For mom-and-pop Mike Brown octogenarian reasons, I remain reticent that the Cincinnati Bengals job will open up. As long as Zac Taylor is under contract, Brown will do everything in his power to not eat a cent. Taylor is a fine head coach, but things have grown stale in the Queen City. It is why I would hire a true Ohioan in Vrabel to be the head coach for the second half of Joe Burrow's prime moving forward.

We are talking about the Bengals potentially recognizing they would be the best job to open up if they were to move on from Taylor. Not only that, but they would be a serious candidate to get Vrabel to turn heel from one AFC North rival to another. Hiring Vrabel would be better than hiring Sam Wyche and Forrest Gregg combined. It would be the best thing this franchise has done since Bill Walsh was there.

This is the head-coaching hire that might redefine the entire paradigm to keep Cincinnati relevant.