Story bySean T. McGuireSun, January 4, 2026 at 5:56 PM UTC·1 min readIf well-known Patriots hater Rex Ryan had a vote for Coach of the Year, he would give it to New England head coach Mike Vrabel. And Ryan, who spent eight seasons coaching in the AFC East, doesn’t believe it’s particularly close. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“Mike Vrabel, I mean, without question,” Ryan said on “ESPN’s NFL Countdown” on Sunday ahead of the league’s Week 18 slate.“Look, he took over a team that was dead last in his division, catapulted his team all the way to first in his division and had them on the verge of being the number one seed,” Ryan continued. “The phenomenal job that he’s done, and his whole staff — the entire team has improved, every player on that team.