The Patriots’ first-year head coach is leaving a positive impression on the team’s veteran players.
A former linebacker, who won three Super Bowls and appeared in a combined 226 games over the course of his 14-year NFL career, Mike Vrabel is as deserving of being named a “player’s coach” as anybody in the league today. He also is making sure to live up to that label.
Take the New England Patriots’ first open organized team activity on Tuesday. Vrabel, who also has been referred to as a CEO-type head coach, regularly pulled players on both sides of the ball aside for some 1-on-1 coaching.
His approach and energy have left a positive impression on those who have been with the Patriots since before his arrival in January.
“The culture’s different here. I love it,” said third-year wide receiver DeMario Douglas. “Vrabel’s a players’ coach, and he’s on the field with us. We’ve got a head coach that’s on the field with us — it’s different. You can tell he’s very in tune to what we’re doing and wants us to be better. …
“He knows what’s going on on offense and what’s going on on defense, and what needs to be done. That’s how I know he’s in tune with us. He’s making sure that we’re all on one accord and we’re all doing what we need to do.”
Douglas joined the Patriots as a sixth-round draft pick in 2023. Since then, he has been part of back-to-back 4-13 seasons as well as two head coaching changes.
While it remains to be seen whether or not Vrabel will have more success than his predecessors Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo had the last two years, the young wide receiver senses a change in the building.
“I can tell the guys who’ve been here, it’s a different mentality,” he said. “I feel like everybody’s working super hard, and I feel like they’re tired of losing, too. You can see it when we’re working out. We’re competing in workouts. Conditioning drills, we’re competing. That’s rare to see.”
Douglas is not the only returning Patriots veteran who has felt a culture shift over the last few months. The key word used by the players is “energy.”
Tight end Hunter Henry, who first arrived in Foxborough as a free agent in 2021, pointed at it as something that has changed both on and off the practice field with Vrabel present.
“He’s been a lot of fun in the building; in the meeting rooms he’s been great,” the two-time team captain said. “Just briefly being on the field with him has been awesome. He was a player, so he has that energy that we all do. And now also on the coaching side he brings that great energy that I think everybody likes.”
Cornerback Christian Gonzalez, a first-round draft choice in 2023, echoed Henry’s remarks.
“Great energy,” the All-Pro noted. “Everything you see on TV, that’s exactly what you get. He put on a little 51 jersey, which is I thought was something he did in the past, but he still does it. His energy, he always has great energy, Always smiling, so I’ve enjoyed it.”
The Patriots focused on changing the culture and mentality inside the Gillette Stadium throughout the offseason. While their free agency and draft acquisitions, as well as their roster cuts, played a big part in that, it all starts atop.
The energetic Mike Vrabel is leading by example.