Poll: Re-evaluating the Patriots head coaching hire

Let us pretend for a second that the last three weeks played out a little differently than what actually took place.

With Dan Quinn being hired this morning by the Washington Commanders, Bill Belichick has officially been left without an NFL head coaching job for 2024. So too has Mike Vrabel.

In the buildup to Jerod Mayo being officially named as the New England Patriots' next head coach following Bill's departure, we ran many polls asking who should get the gig. Oddly enough, both Belichick and Vrabel returned better results than the man that ended up with the job.

In mid-December, 76% of voters said they wanted Belichick back as head coach if he gave up GM duties. On January 11, the day of the split, we asked "who should be the team's next head coach?"

62% said Mike Vrabel, 17% said Jim Harbaugh and only 11% chose Mayo.

Then, on January 17, the day he was formally introduced as the 15th head coach in franchise history, only 32% said they "loved the hire," while 38% wanted to see a "departure from the Belichick era" and 29% said "he wasn't my first choice, but I'm okay with it."

I present this all to you to show that, if it was a popularity contest based on Drive Polls, the guy that ended up with the job was the third-most popular pick when put with two others that have now been left without jobs.

So, if you had a do over, who would you pick as the Patriots head coach for 2024?