How Mike Vrabel called out one of the Patriots’ biggest free agent signings

When Mike Vrabel was hired as the new head coach of the New England Patriots back in January, one of the big things people pointed to was his ability to build a culture and (re)set the standards of an organization. On Tuesday afternoon, one of his players shared a first-hand account of him doing just that.

During a media availability, defensive tackle Milton Williams shared how Vrabel had called him out during a recent practice in front of the team.

"The first week [of spring workouts] I was out there running, and Coach Vrabel called me out in front of everybody, which I like," Williams explained. "So he called me out. Like, 'hey, you being here, you need to set the standard.' And after that, it was like, OK. So I'm trying to make sure I'm doing that every day. Every day I come in and try to put my best foot forward and go from there."

Williams shared that the call-out was related to sprints the team was running at the time. "We're running and we've got a time we're supposed to make it in. So I've already, like made it on my way back," he explained. "Get to the line and we've got to run back and make it back to the goal line at a certain time. So I got out 'fwoom!' Coming back and then I'm kind of like just - I knew I was going to be making it so I'm just like...he wanted me to just go ahead and just empty the tank every rep."

This wasn't just any player Vrabel called out. Williams was the team's biggest free agency acquisition, having signed a record-breaking four-year, $104 contract just weeks after winning a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles. Still, despite that accolade Williams shared he appreciated his coach keeping him accountable.

"I feel like it's gonna help me, to push me to get to where I want to be. And the guys that's running with me, it's gonna push them to running harder," Williams said on Tuesday.

"I like that. I don't mind. I don' think I'm bigger than the next person," he later added. "I don't mind getting called out because he called me out it's just going to help the other guys. We ain't got no excuses for nobody not giving their all."

Williams' story is the latest peak behind the curtain at how Vrabel is working behind the scenes to reset the culture in New England. Another recent example was a teaser released by the team for the first episode of Forged In Foxborough, an upcoming internally-produced Hard Knocks-like series. That first episode will debut on Friday, and should give more looks into Vrabel laying the groundwork in his first season as Patriots head coach - and potentially more call-outs.