Philadelphia Eagles star A.J. Brown recently sat down with New England legends Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman on the 'Dudes on Dudes' podcast, and share two insights: he grew up a Patriots fan, and he spent his rookie year hate-doodling his coach’s name in team meetings.
That coach, of course, was Mike Vrabel.
Now at the helm in New England, Vrabel has pulled off a stunning turnaround, transforming a four-win 2024 squad into immediate Super Bowl contenders. According to Brown, that success is built on cold-calling in team meetings, Vrabel's first step in personal accountability.
“Vrabes is the type of coach who’s going to call on you in the meetings,” Brown explained. “He’s going to make sure you’re staying engaged and go over the keys of victory of the week. You better know the keys to victory like the back of your hand.”
This high-pressure environment is a staple of the current Patriots regime, but when Brown was a rookie with the Tennessee Titans in 2019, he didn't get it. In fact, Vrabel's approach rubbed him the wrong way.
“I used to write in my notebook, because at the time, I didn’t really like Vrabes. And he knows that,” Brown said to a chorus of laughs from Gronk and Edelman. “I used to write, ‘I hate Vrabes. I hate Vrabes. I hate Vrabes.’ I was doing that to pretend I was taking notes—to look engaged. He was so hard on me, and I didn’t understand it yet. I even told him, ‘I’m humble already, you don’t got to humble me.’"
The tough love eventually clicked. Following back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in Tennessee, Brown realized Vrabel’s intensity wasn't personal. It was foundational.
“He holds every single player accountable from top to bottom. I don’t care who it is,” Brown said. “That’s who he is, and it makes the team come together because nobody’s bigger than the program. You have to respect it. I’m so excited for him; he deserves this opportunity.”
Brown’s endorsement, paired with the Eagles’ disappointing 2025 season, keeps the rumor mill churning about a Foxborough reunion. But, the financial implications for Philadelphia are sobering. Brown is under contract in Philly until 2030. While a trade before June 1 would saddle the Eagles with a staggering $43.5 million dead cap hit, a post-June 1 move would drop that figure to a more manageable, but still steep, $16.4 million.
Finally, how does a kid from Mississippi grow up a big Patriots fan, as Brown admitted to Gronkowski and Edelman?
“When I was younger, I wanted to do everything like my older cousin, and he was a big Patriots fan,” Brown said. “It was that simple. Nothing complex about it.”