Kevin Harlan

He's played.

He's got the instant respect of the players.

However, I would say this.

In the year between he left Tennessee, he was let go.

and when he accepted the job at New England, he spent some time with the Cleveland Browns and was a very nondescript position with the team, but was a consultant, helped at practice, game planning.

Just him being around, they were better because of it in Cleveland.

I also think that he had a chance to step back personally, as is good for all of us, and gain perspective and take note on what he did right as a head coach, what maybe he was lacking in,

got a ton of feedback, I think, from people, and may have kind of, you know, redone the puzzle a little bit in what his picture looks like.

And one thing that has stood out to me that a lot of people have talked about that I think has resonated clearly with the team, brought them together much more, and they spent a lot of money, by the way.

We know that in New England they spent a ton of money in free agency, but it's paid off.

is that his communication skills with that team have been exemplary to the point where I think a lot of other coaches are taking note.

These players, they will crawl for leadership because they want so much of it.

They want to be coached, and they want to be led.

The vast majority of them want to.

And some of these coaches had different styles.

Belichick had a different style.

And I think what Vrabel has done, he's pulled the best things that he encountered while playing under Belichick and kind of now turned the chapter to kind of a new way of doing business with holding on to old school ideals.

And he's kind of meshed those together so perfectly.

The intersection has brought this kind of season.

And McDonald is still so young up in Seattle that he is still very relevant with what it means to be a young coach.