The New England Patriots were down and out just like the Miami Hurricanes were a couple years ago. But the Pats will play in the Super Bowl Sunday, just like Miami played for the national title this past season.
Not surprisingly there are incredible similarities in how the storied NFL franchise and storied college football program together rose back to relevance and the national spotlight.
The Patriots have won more NFL regular-season games, playoff games, conference championships and Super Bowls since 2000 than any team in the NFL. But since they lost in the 2019 wild card round and Tom Brady left town, they have been one of the league’s worst teams, finishing 4-13 in 2023 and 2024.
Yet in one year under New Coach Mike Vrabel, the Patriots are in the Big Game once again. It took Miami and Mario Cristobal four seasons to become national title game material but the path there was very similar.
With the Patriots, it started at the top. Owner Robert Kraft pulled the plug on Bill Belichick and then his successor Jerod Mayo before striking gold with Vrabel. Miami did the same with Manny Diaz and now Mario Cristobal has successfully restored the Hurricane program to within sniffing distance of championship glory
“To be good long term, you need a coach and a quarterback,” Kraft said. “When Mike Vrabel was available, I just thought … I felt a chemistry with him. I thought he had all the different factors.”
New England found its quarterback in Drake Maye. There were three projected franchise-altering quarterbacks in the 2024 draft and New England got Maye after Caleb Williams went to Chicago and Jayden Daniels went to Washington.
Miam built around elite quarterbacks also, landing Cam Ward, Carson Beck and now Darian Mensah.
Vrabel remade the Patriots coaching staff and got rid of all the inexperienced guys. Cristobal remade his staff twice before finding the ideal chemistry this season, particularly with the addition of defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman.
The roster overhauls are almost identical too.
Vrabel replaced over half of New England’s players with help from a personnel department that includes Alonzo Highsmith, who was part of the Miami program under Cristobal too before he headed north.
In free agency, New England spent an NFL-high $209 million in guaranteed money and over $364 million in total contract value to a group that makes up nearly half (nine of 22) of the Patriots’ expected Super Bowl starters.
Miami invested tens of millions of dollars in its new roster to shape the team into a title contender. Only six of 22 starters played 10 games or more a season ago.
New England also had the best draft last year in the NFL. Miami has been in the Top 14 in the On3 team recruiting rankings every year under Cristobal and has been in the top 10 twice.
The Patriots are 4 1/2-point underdogs per BetMGM on Sunday.
Miami was an 8 ½-point underdog at home to Indiana in the National Championship game.
So when you watch New England compete for it all on Sunday, think about the Miami Hurricanes at the same time regardless of whether they are able to beat the Seattle seahawks or come in second like the Hurricanes did to Indiana.