One week after Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft met with the media to discuss the firing of first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, the 83-year-old owner was at the podium again on Monday.
But this time around, the topic wasn’t the disaster that was the 2024 season, but rather a look ahead at yet another new beginning for his franchise, as Kraft formally introduced Mike Vrabel as the 16th head coach in franchise history at Gillette Stadium.
“We were gathered here 15 months ago at the Sports Illustrated Pavilion to welcome Mike as a new inductee into the Patriots Hall of Fame,” said Kraft. “I'm really proud that 15 months later, we're back here today to invite him and his lovely wife Jen to announce him as the new head coach of the New England Patriots.”
Vrabel was a member of three Super Bowl-winning teams during his eight-year stint as a linebacker in New England, playing alongside some of the best defensive players of his generation during an unprecedented run of success for the franchise. As Kraft mentioned, that run of dominance earned him an induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2023.
But according to Kraft, it’s not just the red jacket that landed him his new job.
“In the interview process, Mike showed us that he had a very deep understanding of our current team,” said Kraft. “And most importantly, he had a clear and focused strategy of how to get us back to the championship way - that is not only so important to all of us, but also something that I think our fan base really deserves and expects.”
From there, Kraft handed the podium over to Vrabel, who opened with both words of gratitude for everyone that had helped him get to the position he’s in today, as well as a preview into the type of culture he will look to establish in his return to Foxborough.
“We're going to earn the right to be here every day,” said Vrabel. “We're going to remove entitlement from our football team. We're going to get everything that we've earned from the head coach to the position coaches, all the way down to the players. We're going to earn the right to be here every single day.
“I always say that - I don't want to get into too many messages, that will be geared for the players. But I hold those conversations - those are special conversations between the coaches and the players. But we want to treat every player the same way they treat the team, and we want to treat every employee the same way they treat the team. If they care about the team, and they come here with a great attitude and a willingness to work and help the team, I've asked Robert to do everything that we can for them, to support them and their families. That's the type of environment that I want to build. I'm excited about it.”
While Vrabel does share a commonality with Mayo in that he, too, is a former Patriots linebacker who played the best football of his career under the tutelage of former head coach Bill Belichick, his coaching resume looks vastly different.
From 2018 to 2023, Vrabel was the head coach of the Titans, where he had a three-year run that included beating Tom Brady in a playoff game at Gillette (his last game as a Patriot), making an AFC Championship Game, twice winning double-digit games, securing the AFC’s top seed heading into a postseason, and winning 2021 NFL Coach of the Year.
Vrabel has a track record of success manning a sideline, but the 49-year-old made it clear on Monday that he’s not just a cut-and-paste copy of any of his former legendary head coaches.
“I'm not Bill [Belichick],” said Vrabel. “I'm not Bill Cowher. I'm not anyone other than me. I've taken those experiences, and I've tried to form what I believe is critical to the success of a football team and an organization.
“To say what those are going to look like - hopefully just as successful. Our goals will be to win the AFC East, to host home playoff games, and to compete for championships,” said Vrabel. “That's what it's going to take. And what the timeline is, just like we say with injuries - we're not going to put a timeline on an injury, and we're certainly not going to put a timeline on what those will be. But that's going to be the expectations, and we're going to work like crazy, we're going to compete like crazy, we're going to give the players a plan, and they're going to form an identity on the field in the way that we're going to play, and play for each other, that they're going to be proud of.”
While Vrabel was willing to acknowledge that the specter of a former Belichick player taking over his former organization was “interesting,” he made it clear that it won’t be a focus of his with the players.
“I think it is unique, obviously,” said Vrabel. “Let's just be real for a minute, and just say having played for him and competing against him and then also having a friendship with Bill along the way - I think it's special, it's unique having played here, knowing Bill.
“Again, we're going to have to focus on things that are going to help us win now, help our players, and like I said, galvanize the building and the team and our fan base. So I think there's also things I'm going to try to explain to the players - there's things that are interesting, and there's things that are important. I think me having played for Bill is interesting, I just don't know if it's important to helping our players.”
Vrabel might think his tenure with Belichick isn’t “important,” but the one-time All-Pro linebacker does believe there’s an area where his past success as a player in New England can be helpful.
“The banners that hang in our stadium - they're not going to help us win, but I think it's a great reminder of what it takes to win and the type of people that you have to have in the organization,” said Vrabel. “The selflessness, the work and the sacrifice that you have to make. So to me, those are great reminders of what it takes.
“Just because those banners hang, that's not going to give us an advantage on the field, but it's going to give us a blueprint on how hard we need to work and the things that we need to do to be successful.”
With Vrabel inheriting a franchise that’s coming off consecutive four-win seasons, set to pick No. 4 overall in April’s NFL Draft, the blueprint that worked wonders for the first run of the Patriots dynasty is a great place to start.