The New England Patriots formally introduced the three-time Super Bowl champion Mike Vrabel, as their 16th head coach of the franchise history. The 2021 NFL coach of the year comes with an experience of 11 years in the NFL and 3 years with Ohio State under his resume. But just before taking the helm, starting with the 2025 season, the new HC had an interesting bit to add.

When asked what type of players he wants for the Patriots, Vrabel stated, “Eliot’s (Wolf) gonna laugh, but I’m gonna say good ones.” Uh-huh! Seems like the Patriots’ front office got a little bruised. Did he indirectly take a dig at the Patriots’ performance this season? It seems so, and Jerod Mayo must be side-eyeing him right about now.

But what went wrong with Mayo as the team decided to fire him just after one season? Well, for starters, the New England team was a talent-depleted roster led by a rookie quarterback, Drake Maye. But it isn’t as simple as it seems. The head coach had to choose the team’s starting QB. However, despite Maye being declared as outperforming Jacoby Brissett, the head coach went ahead with Brissett as the starting QB. You wanna hear the reason? Believe me, it’s an insane one.

Mayo stated that Maye should learn from the bench. Well, that didn’t work out in the team’s favor. Enter a shaky O-line and the Patriots lost their first 4 games of the season. Speaking of which, their O-line ranked 30th in the points scored this season, 31st in total yards, and 29th in touchdowns scored. The way things shaped up looks like Mike Vrabel’s statement isn’t without merit regarding the good players.

“I think the offense, we mentioned things like aggressive but not reckless,” Vrabel said on Monday regarding the type of offense he wants for the following season. “We have to be able to take chances. How do we create plays without having to throw the ball 50 yards downfield and just sit there taking shots? The creativity — we want to be versatile enough if the players can handle it. You look at the zone scheme in the run game, being able to run gap scheme to things that the defense might do. Be under center, be in the shotgun,” the new coach added.

Talking about the details of the team combination, Vrabel continued, “But it’s also important to understand, everybody has access to this and everyone has experience with different types of offenses — it’s what the players can get good at.” He seemed clear about his tactics for the next season. How will he utilize the team’s talent, the new HC added, “How much can you reasonably do? You don’t want to dabble in things and say, ‘We’re going to dabble in RPOs,’ when the quarterback — if that’s not a strength of his. … And then being able to go on the ball and try to be able to use an offense that goes on the ball at times and dictates tempo, cadence. But again, it’ll be based on what the players can understand and what they can handle.” Seems like Vrabel has arrived with a clear vision.

Well, if we’re not wrong, Drake Maye is being considered as the future QB of the Patriots who will lead their O-line. It seems Vrabel’s first priority will be to develop their quarterback. On the other hand, the New England team owns the number 4th overall pick in the NFL 2025 draft while having a $130 million salary cap. So yeah, it seems that Mike Vrabel may get his hands on some good players.

Robert Kraft believes in Mike Vrabel

Robert Kraft seems to be looking for another Bill Belichick era for his team. And why wouldn’t he? If your team is one of the most successful in terms of titles, you naturally want to maintain that legacy. That said, the owner is looking for the same process to become the champion again and he’s keen that Vrabel may get the job done.

According to the Patriots’ owner, the most important thing Vrabel brought to the interview process was ‘a clear and focused strategy of how to get us back to a championship way.’ As he said, “That is so important to all of us, but also something that I think our fanbase really deserves and expects.” As for the coaching track record, Vrabel has decent stats against his name.

The Tennessee Titans hired Vrabel in 2018 as their head coach. During his six years with the Titans, Vrabel led his team to two divisional titles and three playoff appearances. Well, for the head coach, it still seems an unfinished job as Vrabel still has to win a Super Bowl title as the head coach. It would be interesting to see if the three-time Super Bowl champion can get his hands on the title next year. Of course, with a new position this time!