Mike Vrabel sets the tone for his Patriots program during introductory press conference
As a free agent coach and upon his hire as the head coach of the New England Patriots, Mike Vrabel was heralded as a program builder. What will that culture look like? Vrabel shared some big picture examples at his introductory press conference on Monday.
On Monday afternoon, the New England Patriots formally introduced Mike Vrabel as the franchise’s 16th head coach. That included Vrabel giving his first press conference in New England, where he spoke for for about 40 minutes.
As a head coach, Vrabel is viewed by many as a program builder. That’s what made him a logical choice for this job, after the Patriots went through a year of issues with instability and accountability in 2024.
Given that, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a major focus from Vrabel’s press conference was on the program that he plans on building in New England. From a football organization sense, a team’s “program” refers to the core concepts and beliefs and foundational pillars the team operates around on a day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month, and year-to-year basis. A strong program creates continuity and sustainability, which can help the team both in games and during crucial moments in the offseason (ex. the NFL Draft).
Throughout the 40 minutes Vrabel gave multiple examples of what his program will be based on, including in his opening statement.
WATCH: Mike Vrabel’s introductory press conference
“That culture is going to be built on winning, a competitive spirit throughout our roster and throughout our players and throughout our coaches and our staff and the ability to put the team first and care about somebody other than yourself,” Vrabel explained. “Everyone in this building is going to understand and believe that their job is critically important for our success, and it’s going to be how can I help you in order to help the players? Our players will respect, and they will appreciate, and they will be grateful for the opportunity that they have here and the people that work in this building.”
“We’re going to remove entitlement from our football team,” Vrabel continued. “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.”
Installing a program happens at all levels. Vrabel spoke specifically about what he’ll be looking for from players and coaches under his leadership.
“As long as I’m the head coach here, our coaches will have three simple jobs,” Vrabel explained. “They want to teach, they want to develop, and they want to inspire our players by making a connection. We’re going to make strong connections with our players so that we can coach them and we can push them.”
For the players?
“We’re going to ask our players to just do a few things. One is to put the team first, to know what to do and play fast and aggressive. That’s the vision for the type of player,” Vrabel said. “Winners come in all shapes and sizes. We’re going to have leaders. Leaders are going to identify themselves…The leaders are going to be the ones that define the culture. The culture will be what drives and gives you the results that we’re all after.”
In terms of specific player traits he’ll be looking for when building out the roster, Vrabel highlighted effort and basic technical skill.
“We’re going to be moving. We’re going to demand effort and finish,” he said. “People ask what non-negotiables are. Our effort and our finish is going to be the contract that we make with our teammates. That will be my job to make sure.”
“We’re going to play with technique,” Vrabel added. “We’re going to play with fundamentals. There’s going to be a brand of football that everybody associated with our team or our fans is going to be proud of.”
WATCH: Mike Vrabel joins Zolak & Bertrand
While Vrabel discussed the kinds of players he wants on his football team overall, there was particular attention paid to the quarterback position. After rebuilding the program, developing Drake Maye may be the most important task Vrabel inherits in New England.
How does he plan on getting the most out of Drake Maye? “Put great people around him,” Vrabel replied, when asked his philosophy on quarterback development.
Vrabel specifically cited the offensive line, saying “You look at the teams that are able to protect the quarterback and dictate the flow of the game offensively – making sure that up front we’re sound, we’re strong, whether that’s through free agency or the draft, that’s something that’s critical…As they try to disrupt our quarterback, we have to have some things that counterbalance that.”
On the passing game as a whole, Vrabel said he believes the Patriots “have to be a very efficient passing football team.”
“We have to be able to take chances,” Vrabel continued on his general offensive philosophy. “How do we create X plays without having to just throw the ball down the field 50 yards and just sit there taking shots?”
Some of this all may sound very familiar to Patriots fans. Bill Belichick is arguably the best program builder in NFL history, and many of the concepts Vrabel discussed on Monday echo things Belichick preached for two decades in New England.
Vrabel noted that there are Belichick influences in his approach, as there are from other coaches he played for. But, at the end of the day, his program will be his own.
“I’m not Bill, and I’m not Bill Cowher [who Vrabel played for in Pittsburgh], I’m not anyone other than me,” he explained. “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.”
Along the same lines, Vrabel characterized how the Patriots’ past success will play a role in his approach. “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, the selflessness, the work and the sacrifice that you have to make,” he said. “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.”
So, what will this all look like in the end?
“Our goals will be to win the AFC East, to host home playoff games, and to compete for championships. That’s what it’s going to take,” Vrabel explained. “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.”
Within that, Vrabel declined to give an exact timeline, comparing it to projecting a player coming back from injury. It likely all won’t happen right away – strong program can take multiple years to install. It’s going to take time for Vrabel to get the organization where he wants it to be, but having a strong foundation in Year 1 is crucial.
What will that foundation look like? Vrabel did say what he’s hoping to achieve right away.
“We just want to be good enough to take advantage of bad football. That’s where we’re going to start,” he explained. “That’s what I’ve tried to tell all the players is right now I don’t know if we’re good enough to take advantage of bad football. I’m unsure. Like we’re undefeated right now, but if we can just work towards taking advantage of bad football and being good enough to, when somebody makes a mistake, capitalizing on it and not being the ones that make the mistakes, and focusing on the little things and the details and helping them do their job better, that’s a great place to start.”
Ultimately, Vrabel’s success is going to be dictated but much more than just saying the right things in his introductory press conference. He and the team as a whole will need to follow through on building the structure he laid out. But the program he did lay out on Monday relates to many of the concepts that made him the favorite for the job.
