The New England Patriots officially named Mike Vrabel the 16th head coach in franchise history on Sunday. Here’s who the move affects, for better or worse, moving forward.

Winners

Robert Kraft: The Patriots moved quickly in their interview search (more on that later) which led to owner Robert Kraft getting his preferred candidate. Vrabel was always the top option as Kraft gets a part of the dynasty to come back to Foxboro and lead his football team.

Locker room: Under first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, the Patriots lacked an identity both on and off the field. That will not be true under Vrabel, who brings an instant level of professionalism and experience to the organization. Vrabel’s past Titans teams always played hard and to their fullest, while there will additionally be no inconsistent messaging through the locker room and media.

As another CEO-type head coach, New England is hoping Vrabel will build a winning culture and a locker room that looks like ones he was part of back in the early 2000s.

“We held each other accountable because there was trust. There was an understanding. There was a respect,” Vrabel remarked at the old Patriots locker rooms at his team Hall of Fame speech last year. “You could say things that needed to be said to each other, and every day that’s what I’m trying to recreate. Wherever I coach, I’m trying to recreate what we had in that locker room.

“Nothing was more important than the team. Not your feelings. Not your stats. Not your paycheck. Not what you’d done in the past. Nothing was more important than the football team.”

Losers

Eliot Wolf: It’s yet to be seen how the hiring of Vrabel will affect the Patriots personnel department, but the new head coach will have a say. That could lead to Vrabel bringing a new lead personnel figure (Ryan Cowden a top option) in addition to having some control himself, which could end up with Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf losing final say on the roster.

“In my opinion, there are some people in the front office that need to be told, ‘You don’t know what you’re doing and you need to take a step back,’” Tedy Bruschi said Sunday morning on ESPN NFL Countdown.

“I love the hire. Of course, this guy is a friend of mine. But there is going to be a change. I’m a little bit surprised that this happened because there are some people upstairs in the organization that want to be heard. And sometimes they’re going to have to take a bite of ‘Humble Pie’ and understand ‘your opinion doesn’t matter on this one’ because there are people in the building that know more.”

Hiring process: After the firing of Jerod Mayo, owner Robert Kraft addressed the media and hinted towards the idea of an extensive head coaching search.

“We want to interview as many people as we can that we think can help us get to that position that we want to be in,” Kraft said.

The opposite occurred. The Patriots went on to interview just four candidates with two quickly satisfying the NFL’s Rooney Rule. Their intentions were so clear that even Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn denied an interview with the team which reportedly drew praise around the league. Maybe Vrabel was the top guy no matter what, but the process of getting there was bad.

DeMarcus Covington: As with any head coach, Vrabel will bring a largely new staff to New England next season. While some current coaches will have the chance to interview or stay on at their position, the defensive-minded Vrabel will likely have his own preference at the defensive coordinator position. DeMarcus Covington’s Patriots tenure could be coming to a close — something he may already realize as he’s taken one defensive coordinator interview elsewhere already.

TBD

Drake Maye: New England’s 22-year old franchise quarterback should have been at the top of the Patriots’ mind when running through their head coaching search. That’s what made pairing Maye with Ben Johnson so intriguing, as Johnson’s Lions offenses have ranked near the top of the league since taking over play calling duties.

Maye’s future will now largely be impacted by Vrabel’s offensive coordinator hire — the biggest decision he now must make.