Seven games into his first season as head coach of the Patriots (5-2), Mike Vrabel already has more wins than Jerod Mayo had through his entire 2024 season on the New England sidelines.
That four-win season for Mayo directly followed a four-win season in Bill Belichick’s final season as the Patriots head coach. And when you extrapolate it out even further, New England’s record from the time Tom Brady signed with the Buccaneers in March of 2020 until the start of the 2025 season was 33-51.
Foxborough, MA had become Loserville once again, something it hadn’t been since before Bill Parcells took over as head coach in 1993.
It was apparent to anyone with eyeballs that a massive cultural overhaul was needed at 1 Patriot Place, and the Kraft Family deemed Vrabel as the guy for the job.
Through Week 7, and it looks like they might have made the right call. Sunday saw the Patriots coming away with a 31-13 win over the Titans (1-6), giving them their fourth win in a row as their quarterback continues to look like an MVP candidate.
New England sits in first place in the AFC East for a second straight week, and currently holds the No. 2 seed in the conference behind the upstart 6-1 Colts (yes, you read that correctly). As of publishing, their +3500 odds to win the Super Bowl are 13th-best in the NFL - a massive uptick from the +12500 they were when that line opened.
Vrabel’s got this thing going in the right direction, and he was asked about that new infectious culture of winning during his appearance Monday morning on The Greg Hill Show.
“It does seem like from the outside, there's been a massive culture change here, and you're the leader of the organization,” said WEEI’s Greg Hill. “What do you attribute that to, to being able to come in and change, on and off the field, the culture?
"Just try to be authentic,” said Vrabel. “Try to be real, try to support people and help them do their jobs. Hire good people, knowledgeable people. Make connections with the players, make connections with the people in the building. and that's just what we're trying to do. And winning, that brings morale up."
Vrabel and the rest of the Patriots look to keep the good times rolling in Week 8 as the Browns (2-5) come to town on Sunday.
As of publishing, the Patriots are a 7-point favorite at FanDuel. You can get them on the moneyline at -320, and the total is set at 40.5.
Tune in each and every Monday throughout the football season to Patriots Monday on WEEI. Head coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show at 6:30 a.m. ET, and quarterback Drake Maye joins WEEI Afternoons.