Super Bowl win in first season? How Mike Vrabel can join exclusive coaching fraternity

Mike Vrabel was hired by the New England Patriots in the hopes of turning around their franchise after back-to-back four-win seasons.

He achieved all that and more in his first season with the franchise.

Vrabel led the Patriots to a 14-3 regular-season record, marking a 10-win improvement from Jerod Mayo's lone campaign in charge of the team. Drake Maye played at an MVP level during his second season while New England's defense played well under Vrabel's tutelage.

The 50-year-old then brought New England on a deep playoff run behind an elite performance from that defense. They have allowed just 8.7 points per game across their three postseason wins, which helped the team make it back to the Super Bowl for the first time since its Super Bowl 53 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

Now, the Patriots are just one win away from breaking their tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowls in NFL history. Vrabel will also have an opportunity to join an exclusive list of NFL coaches who have won Super Bowls in their first season with a team.

Here's more to know about the club Vrabel could join with a victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 60.

Coaches to win Super Bowl in first season with a team

Just four head coaches in NFL history have won a Super Bowl in their first season in charge of a team. They are as follows:

• Don McCafferty, Baltimore Colts (Super Bowl 5)
• George Seifert, San Francisco 49ers (Super Bowl 24)
• Jon Gruden, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Super Bowl 37)
• Gary Kubiak, Denver Broncos (Super Bowl 50)

Of the quartet, only McCafferty and Seifert were able to do it in their first-ever season as NFL coaches. Each was promoted from within to replace an outgoing legend, as McCafferty succeeded Don Shula with the Colts while Seifert took over for Bill Walsh in San Francisco.

Both Gruden and Kubiak were in their second stints as NFL head coaches when they led their teams to championships. Gruden previously coached the then-Oakland Raiders, posting a 38-26 record before being traded to the Buccaneers during the 2002 offseason and leading them to a Super Bowl 37 win over his former team.

Meanwhile, Kubiak spent eight seasons as the Houston Texans' head coach. He compiled a 61-64 record from 2006-13, before landing with the Broncos in 2015 and leading Denver to a Super Bowl 50 victory in Peyton Manning's final season.

Vrabel's path to a Super Bowl would be most similar to Kubiak's. Vrabel spent six seasons coaching the Tennessee Titans before joining the Patriots, compiling a 54-45 record across 99 games in Tennessee.

Also notable: Kubiak achieved his Super Bowl win at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. That's where Vrabel and the Patriots will face the Seahawks in Super Bowl 60.

Super Bowls won by first-year coaches

Below is a look at the results of the Super Bowls won by coaches in their first season with a franchise:

• Super Bowl 5 (Don McCafferty): Baltimore Colts 16, Dallas Cowboys 13
• Super Bowl 24 (George Seifert): San Francisco 49ers 55, Denver Broncos 10
• Super Bowl 37 (Jon Gruden): Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48, Oakland Raiders 21
• Super Bowl 50 (Gary Kubiak): Denver Broncos 24, Carolina Panthers 10

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Super Bowl win in first season? How Mike Vrabel can join exclusive list