The New England Patriots are doing a rebuilding speed run, thanks in large part to the man at the controller consistently pushing all the right buttons.
Since returning to his former stomping grounds as head coach, Mike Vrabel has successfully maneuvered his team through the challenges a team totaling eight wins over the last two years is facing. He rebuilt the staff, changed the scheme, and brought in hand-picked contributors on and off the field.
Most importantly, however, he instilled a newfound
belief in the entire organization. It is that belief that is the basis of the Patriots’ Super Bowl run.
“When we lost to the Steelers and we lost a couple of those games early, it was easy to count us out and put us in that spot. Nobody believed in us, let alone liked us, for any matter. I feel like our coach believed in us,” said wide receiver Stefon Diggs following the Patriots’ 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.
“He helped us build this identity that he speaks of. He held everybody to the same standard, something I’m super thankful for. And I realized that it starts at the head. When you hold everybody to the same standard and you hold everybody to the same requirements each and every day, you hold your teammates accountable. You start looking at your teammates like self policing, self accountability. And you don’t want to let your teammates down. So, the camaraderie and the team chemistry that he’s built from the head coach position is second to none.”
Vrabel’s leadership can be traced back to his playing days. He was a captain in four of his eight seasons as a Patriots linebacker under head coach Bill Belichick, and later used his experience to carve out a successful coaching career that led him to Ohio State, Houston, Tennessee and, via a one-year intermezzo in Cleveland, back to New England.
The Patriots hired him last January, and in the 12 months since he has given the team a confidence it was sorely lacking after back-to-back 4-13 seasons and two coaching changes. And while that confidence may have looked displaced at the time — the team was regularly power-ranked in the low 20s before the season — Vrabel never wavered.
“You have to believe things sometimes before you can see them,” he explained on Sunday. “And you have to believe that what you’re doing is the right thing and if it’s not you have to recognize it and make adjustments and changes to the program and everything else. We have a great group of guys and they continue to again believe in the things that we did and they formed and created an identity, and they try to protect it.”
Vrabel’s belief in his program has created a spark that subsequently reignited the entire franchise. Along the way, one box after another was ticked.
The first winning season since 2021. The first division title since 2019. The first playoff win since 2018. The first Super Bowl berth since 2018.
Ultimately, it all comes back to Vrabel being the one to believe in all of it being possible. And not for his own sake, either.
“I do this for the players,” he explained. “I’ve been in their position. I have. I’ve been there. And it’s amazing. And I want other people to feel that feeling. And it’s for our families, who make a lot of sacrifices and the excitement and the joy that they have. Trust me, I’m fine. I’ll be okay. I do this for the players to be able to experience this with their with their families and our coaches to be able to experience it with their families.”
Among those players is offseason signing Stefon Diggs, who failed to reach a Super Bowl in his first 10 years in the NFL.
“Hopefully, he wins Coach of the Year,” a visibly emotional Diggs said about Vrabel. “He’s probably the best coach I ever had.”
