The Coach of the Year award had more deserving candidates than perhaps any other award announced Thursday night at NFL Honors.
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel won it for the second time in his career, with 19 of 50 first-place votes and 302 total points. He beat out Jacksonville’s Liam Coen (239 points, 16 first-place votes), Seattle’s Mike Macdonald (191, eight), Chicago’s Ben Johnson (145, one) and San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan (140, six). Coen and Johnson, like Vrabel, directed big turnarounds; Macdonald led the Seahawks to the No. 1 seed in the NFC; and Shanahan’s team overcame a slew of injuries to come within a game of the No. 1 seed, losing to the Seahawks in Week 18.
He joins Chuck Knox (Rams, Bills, Seahawks), Bill Parcells (Giants, Patriots), Bruce Arians (Colts, Cardinals), Dan Reeves (Giants, Falcons), Don Shula (Colts, Dolphins) and George Allen (Rams, Washington) as coaches who have won the award with multiple franchises.
The Patriots named Vrabel their head coach before the 2025 season after the team went 4-13 in Jerod Mayo’s only season. New England was 13-4 this season and won the AFC East in Vrabel’s first season.
Vrabel also won the award in 2021 when he coached the Titans.
Bill Belichick won the award in 2010.
The awards announced at NFL Honors are only for results of the regular season, with voting conducted after Week 18.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye remained a full participant in Thursday’s practice.
“I’m not trying to lie to you guys when I say I’m feeling great,” Maye said earlier in the day. “I’m feeling great, and looking forward to getting out there today. Another day of practice, we got one tomorrow, and feeling pretty good.”
has pronounced his right shoulder as “good” all week. The team’s injury report confirms that.
Maye was limited on two reports last week, one of which was an estimate, and then sat out Friday with an illness. That led the Patriots to list him as questionable to play in a hypothetical game over the off weekend.
Linebacker Harold Landry (knee) was downgraded to a non-participant on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday.
But linebacker Robert Spillane (ankle) returned to practice as a limited participant after sitting out on Wednesday.
Offensive tackle Thayer Munford Jr. (knee) remained limited.
Defensive lineman Joshua Farmer (hamstring) was a full participant again.
Offensive tackle Morgan Moses had a load management day.
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was honored with Assistant Coach of the Year, announced before the start of NFL Honors on Thursday night.
McDaniels is the first Patriots assistant to win the award, which began in 2014.
McDaniels won 17 of the 50 first-place votes and 249 total points. He was followed by Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph (176 points, 10 first-place votes), Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores (130, eight), Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak (102, three) and Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio (78, four). Four other assistants received at least one first-place vote.
McDaniels returned to the Patriots after Mike Vrabel was named the team’s head coach, and his work with second-year quarterback Drake Maye won him the award. Maye is a candidate for MVP.
“Well, Josh has done a fantastic job, and usually any coach’s success or recognition is going to come from the fact that the players executed; they played well; and they did what was coached,” Vrabel said during his media session Thursday. “And sometimes that happens, and sometimes it doesn’t, but I would be extremely excited and happy for Josh if he were to win, just like I would be for Stef [Stefon Diggs], TreVeyon [Henderson], Drake [Maye] and everybody else.”
McDaniels has worked for the Patriots from 2006-08, 2012-21 and this season.
Seahawks rookie safety Nick Emmanwori injured his ankle in Wednesday’s practice. He said during his media availability that he would participate only in the walkthrough on Thursday but will be good to go for Super Bowl LX.
Emmanwori, indeed, did not practice on Thursday.
He was the only Seahawks player not to participate.
Quarterback Sam Darnold had his first full practice since injuring his left oblique on Jan. 15. He had been limited in the seven practices since, including on Wednesday.
Offensive tackle Josh Jones (ankle/knee), linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence (rest), wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (rest) and defensive end Leonard Williams (rest) also returned to full participation after limited work on Wednesday.
Left tackle Charles Cross (foot) and fullback Robbie Ouzts (neck) were limited for a second consecutive day.
Wide receiver Jake Bobo (hand), linebacker Ernest Jones (chest), safety Julian Love (shoulder), fullback Brady Russell (hand), tight end Eric Saubert (hamstring) and linebacker Drake Thomas (shoulder) again were full participants.
There was no controversy during Bad Bunny’s Thursday media session as the Puerto Rican artist gets set to perform the halftime show of Super Bowl LX.
Fresh off of winning the Grammy for Album of the Year on Sunday, Bad Bunny told reporters — and undoubtedly some fans in the Thursday morning crowd gathered at the Moscone Center in San Francisco — that he’s looking forward to putting on an enjoyable show on Sunday afternoon.
“I’m trying to enjoy it. I know that I’m going to have fun. All the crew, all the people — they’re going to have fun that day,” he said. “That’s what I’m trying to focus [on], enjoy the moment, enjoy what is happening, what I’m doing. Trying to not put pressure on [it].”
This will not be Bad Bunny’s first time on the Super Bowl halftime stage, as he performed with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira in Miami during Super Bowl LIV. But given the magnitude of his latest album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” Bad Bunny feels like this is a particularly special moment.
“The opportunity to bring that feeling that I put on that album to one of the biggest stages in the world is something that I never thought,” he said. “So, definitely this album is my most special because as I said, I was trying to connect with myself and my roots, who I am. And that tells you something that I already knew from before, but now it’s confirmed. You always have to be proud of who you are and feel comfortable being yourself, feel [proud] of your history and where you’re from. But don’t let that limit yourself. I know where I come from, but I also know where I can go. So, definitely, this is an album that’s going to be in my heart for my whole life.”
As for the halftime show itself, Bad Bunny did not reveal if he would be bringing out anyone else for the performance. But he did promise that folks will be pleased by what transpires.
“Well, you know that’s something I’m not going to tell you. I don’t know why you asked that,” he said with a laugh when the moderators asked if there will be any surprises guests. “I think I have a lot of guests — it’s going to be my family, my friends, all the Latino community around the world that’s supporting me. The whole country, there’s a lot of people that love me around the world — not just the Latinos, you just said I’m No. 1 in China so Chinese people love me also. So, there’s a lot of people that stop me in the street or the airport, people from Americas, from United States, Mexico, French, and say, ‘I know you’re going to do a great performance at the Super Bowl.’
“I know the world is going to be happy this Sunday. They’re going to have fun, they’re going to dance, and they’re going to have a good time.”
