Better late than never: Vrabel is the new head coach of the Patriots

My best advice to Mike Vrabel while he is, literally, receiving bouquets of flowers from Robert Kraft, fans, and media is enjoy your honeymoon period. It will last until August. Everything is great right now. Vrabel will be given the benefit of the doubt during the draft and free agent process. The Vrabel love will rise to even new heights during OTAs and training camp when he will, undoubtedly, show an air of being the one in charge.

All bets will be off, however, once the casual fan sits down to watch the Patriots play their first exhibition game. Then, if the penalties, turnovers, and overall sloppy play continue... UNLEASH THE HOUNDS!

But for now, Vrabel is being viewed as the Savior of this franchise. WEEI morning sports talk radio host Greg Hill said as much in a Tuesday grab-ass interview with the new coach when he touched Vrabel on the arm and said, "I don't want to add any pressure, but you're here to save us, like the entire region. You are aware of that, right?"

Hill is not alone in his adoration of Vrabel. He is representative of a large portion of Patriots Nation who view Vrabel as the cure for all of the team's ills of the post-Belichick era.

Vrabel won't put up with all the nonsense Mayo did.

Vrabel is going to clean house.

Vrabel is going to make sure players aren't saying stupid shit.

Vrabel knows how to handle the media and won't say stuff that he will have to apologize for the next day.

Vrabel is going to hire the best coaching staff.

Vrabel is Bill Belichick, but without all the bad stuff.

We'll be in the Super Bowl in two years, baby!!! Mark my words!

These are some of the comments I've been hearing. Oh, there's more. You've heard them, maybe even spoke them, yourself. The hype is out of control.

Jerod Mayo was granted the same honeymoon period when he got hired a year ago. It didn't last very long. It was kind of odd that in one of Mayo's first statements at his introductory press conference, he referred to his 83-year-old millionaire boss as "Thunder." Not very reverential, but ok. I guess that is the kind of relationship they have.

Skepticism grew a little more when he did an interview with WBZ's Steve Burton mere minutes after getting introduced as the new head coach. He dodged a question about his game plan for the rebuild of the team by saying that right now, he was just going to enjoy the moment. In hindsight, maybe he never did have a real, well-thought out plan.

He spilled the beans on the team's draft strategy by saying the team was going to "draft the best player at the most important position." That was definitely not something Belichick would have disclosed.

The most media attention came when he said the team was going to "burn some cash" in free agency. The Patriots never did.

He concluded by saying "this is my time" and that he was ready to get to work and "win some games, a lot of games." Does four games qualify as "a lot?" What made appearances even worse was that he was chuckling after every response.

When the team hit the field for practice, there were the images of one of the team's best players, Matthew Judon, blatantly staging a hold-in, standing off to the side refusing to practice with his teammates. Judon could not be appeased, and was traded.

Then came the games, and the rest is history.

Vrabel has been making the same rounds to all the media outlets this week that Mayo did last year at this time. I've listened to most, if not all, of Vrabel's interviews. I am yet to catch him say anything that I would consider a gaffe. He hasn't made any bold predictions. He hasn't called Robert Kraft any cute nicknames. He has not hinted as to how the Patriots are going to handle the draft.

What he has done is express a vision for what he expects the team to look like. He wants to have a tough team, and that begins with the offensive line. He wants to have a fast, explosive team that will cause defenses to fear that they can score a touchdown from anywhere on the field. He wants Drake Maye to be a strong leader off the field and an efficient game manager (ugh, I hate that term) on the field. He doesn't want Maye throwing the ball 50 times per game like a modern day Dan Marino or Drew Bledsoe. He doesn't like turnovers. He wants to see accountability from his players. On the flip side, he wants to make sure his team capitalizes when the opposition makes mistakes.

He has also had kind things to say about Eliot Wolf. It sounds like they have hit it off. Vrabel even kicked off his introductory press conference with an inside joke directed at Wolf. It, seemingly, lays to rest any speculation that Wolf would be out of a job. The belief was that Vrabel would want to bring in his own personnel person or he wanted to be GM himself. In any event, we all know Vrabel will have a big say in what players New England brings in.

Make no mistake about it – Mike Vrabel is the best head coach that was available for this Patriots' team at this moment. I said last year when Mayo was hired that Vrabel was a better choice. Robert Kraft, however, had promised Mayo he would succeed Belichick when the time came, presumably in a couple of years after Belichick broke Don Shula's record. Vrabel wasn't even a consideration to follow Belichick because Vrabel was having success in Tennessee at the time. No one could have foreseen the Titans firing Vrabel, but Kraft had already given the job to Mayo. His hands were tied.

Surprisingly, Vrabel didn't get hired by any of the eight teams looking for head coaches last year. After the embarrassing season the Patriots had this year, Kraft couldn't wait any longer. Vrabel was still out there and interviewing with other teams, including the hated Jets.

The only other real candidate for the Patriots' head coaching job would have been Detroit's offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson. If the Patriots hired Johnson, it would have been his first gig as a head coach. The Patriots had just gone through that with Mayo and it didn't turn out good.

The idea of Johnson working with Drake Maye for the next decade had to have been intriguing, but, ultimately, Robert Kraft needed a head coach with head coaching experience in the NFL. He needed a proven winner. He needed Mike Vrabel.

Vrabel had a 54-45 record in six seasons with the Titans. In his second year, he took an over-achieving Titans to the AFC Championship Game. In a memorable moment against his old boss, Bill Belichick, Vrabel took advantage of a loophole in a rule to help defeat the Patriots. With a one-point lead in the fourth quarter, Vrabel took delay of game penalties one after another in a punting situation to run time off the game clock. Belichick had done the same thing in a game earlier in the season, but Belichick was irate now that the tables were turned.

It is only one example of Vrabel's football intellect. One of Mayo's biggest flaws this year was his time management at the end of halves. It is to be expected from someone who has never been a head coach before and whose only experience with time management may have been from playing Madden.

Vrabel has proven to be very adept at manipulating the clock at the end of games. He has been there, done that.

So what should we expect from Vrabel in his first season? His comments about the importance of the offensive line immediately made me wonder if he had been hired last year would the Patriots have passed on Maye and traded down to draft Joe Alt. We know Belichick would have.

Vrabel's offensive style with the Titans was very run heavy. Like he has said in interviews, if you had Derrick Henry in his prime, you would be a fool not to keep feeding him the ball.

Vrabel also never had a quarterback as talented as Drake Maye. Even still, Vrabel got the most out of a mediocre quarterback like Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill has over one hundred million reasons to be grateful to Vrabel. He signed a four-year, $118 million contract extension in 2020 after a season in which he threw 33 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions.

Vrabel, himself, as a player, was an overachiever. He got the most out of his talent. He went from being a Steelers' castaway to a member of the Patriots' Hall of Famer. Vrabel played his first four seasons in Pittsburgh and never started a game. He would go on to start 140 games for New England and Kansas City. He also has three Super Bowl rings to flaunt.

So, when draft time comes, I definitely see the Patriots drafting an offensive tackle in the first round. That would likely mean trading down out of the fourth pick. It is fine to do this year. We have our franchise quarterback.

It would have been nice to have had the first pick in order to capitalize on a better deal and higher picks, but Mayo had to go screw that up by winning a meaningless final game of the regular season against the Buffalo Bills.

It will be interesting what Vrabel chooses to do with the wide receiver room. When Vrabel talks about players losing their sense of "entitlement," he could very well be talking, directly, to each and everyone of the wide receivers on the roster. They all took turns spouting their mouths this year.

Are rookies Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker lost causes? I am willing to give them a second chance and see how they respond with some real coaching and more discipline. Is Polk all of a sudden going to start catching every pass thrown his way? Is Baker all of a sudden going to know the playbook and start running correct routes? Probably not, but they have to be better in year two, right? I have more faith in Polk than Baker. Vrabel won't put up with Baker's off the field antics, either, especially from a young player who hasn't shown anything yet.

Kendrick Bourne doesn't represent the kind of veteran leadership that Vrabel is looking for. He is too flamoyant for Vrabel's liking.

Same goes for Kayshon Boutte despite Boutte having a bit of a breakout year. I can see Bourne not being here, especially if the Patriots go out and get a big name wide receiver like Tee Higgins or A.J. Brown. Keep in mind Vrabel coached Brown in Tennessee and Brown has always expressed an interest in playing for New England. Vrabel spoke very highly of Brown's growth as a player, as well as a person, in his WEEI interview.

Demario Douglas could be the one who stands the most to gain from Vrabel's arrival. He represents the speed and explosiveness Vrabel has been touting. Vrabel also expressed an interest in using more motion on offense pre-snap. Any motion pre-snap would be more than Alex Van Pelt liked to use. If the Patriots can get Douglas running around the formation like Tyreek Hill does in Miami, he could be a weapon. I believe Vrabel will scheme ways to get Douglas the ball, quickly, in open space with blockers in front of him.

Vrabel played with Rob Gronkowski so he knows the value of tight ends. Unlike Kendrick Bourne, I think Hunter Henry represents the veteran leadership that Vrabel is looking for. In fact, I think only Henry, David Andrews, and Ja'Whaun Bentley are the only three "veteran leaders" on this team. Maybe throw Mike Onwenu in that group.

Vrabel was also famous for having twelve touchdowns on twelve receptions, counting the playoffs, in his career despite being the Patriots' starting linebacker. Maybe that bodes well for speedy, shifty cornerback Marcus Jones getting more looks on offense. I wouldn't be opposed to that. I also think Vrabel's versatility as a tight end and his making the most of his limited ability as a player will make him see a lot of himself in Hunter Henry.

Rhamondre Stevenson will be very interesting. On the one hand, Vrabel unleashed stud running back Derrick Henry on the league. On the other hand, Vrabel preaches about the importance of ball security. Especially having played for Belichick, Vrabel has no patience for turnovers. So one part of me thinks Stevenson may be the number one benefactor of the Vrabel hiring, yet another part of me tells me that his roster spot may be in jeopardy.

I made a bold prediction prior to the season that Stevenson would rush for 1200 yards this season. He rushed for 800 in 15 games behind a horrible offensive line and with poor quarterback play for the first half of the season. He is still only 26 years old.

I think he may have felt the pressure of having to do too much and that may have led to some of his fumbles, but not all. I don't expect him to be BenJarvus Green-Ellis perfect (he never fumbled once in his four seasons with the Patriots) with securing the football, but he needs to cut his fumbles down to maybe one or two per season. He has the talent to be a top-ten running back in this league. I firmly believe that. I will again be predicting a huge season for him in 2025.

That brings us to the young franchise quarterback. How will Drake Maye respond to Vrabel as his new head coach? Maye has been, notably, silent since the firing of Mayo... and Van Pelt. I think he is more hurt by the loss of Van Pelt. Van Pelt, from all accounts, is a great guy. Everyone loves him. Van Pelt deserves enormous credit for the development of, not only Drake Maye, but Joe Milton, as well. The guy knows how to work with, and develop, quarterbacks.

His offensive schemes are just antiquated and unimaginative. He, also, just isn't a very good play caller. For large portions of the season, he was too predictable, especially in short yardage situations. His refusal to use Maye in those short yardage situations until he was called out by the media for it was fireable on its own.

I wish there was a way to keep Van Pelt on staff as a quarterbacks coach, but, as in any profession, it is never a good look for your underlings to see you take a demotion.

Which raises the question of who the next offensive coordinator will be. Besides the head coach, the offensive coordinator is the coach who takes the most heat on the team. That is why Van Pelt is gone and not some of the other staff... yet.

There is a lot of talk about Josh McDaniels returning to New England. It would be the easy, safe choice. It will be like getting the band back together. It would be comfort food to see familiar faces from the Patriots' heydey back on the sidelines.

McDaniels has failed, miserably, in two opportunities as a head coach. That is, actually, a plus for hiring him. He won't be going anywhere. I think his head coaching opportunities are gone forever. That stability is something that will be important for Maye going forward. You don't want a young O.C. to come in and do a great job with Maye and the Patriots and then leave for a head coaching gig after one year. It is a Catch-22.

I just don't want to go backwards. I want to cut all ties with the Belichick era. Like Kamala Harris said in her campaign, we don't want to go back.

McDaniels' offense was famous for being very complicated and verbose. It relied a lot on receivers and the quarterback being on the same page and making the same reads. It is one thing when you had the chemistry like you did with veterans Tom Brady and Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, or Wes Welker. It is something else when you are talking about youngsters like Drake Maye with Ja'Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, and (not youngster, but very mistake-prone) Kendrick Bourne.

Vrabel has mentioned numerous times that he won't give his players more than they can handle. He has cited the example that if the team can't handle running much motion pre-snap, at this time, he isn't going to incorporate much motion into the offense. I don't think this team would be able to handle Josh McDaniels' offense. He just isn't the right fit for this young team.

When it comes, specifically, to Drake Maye, I think Vrabel is going to adhere to a style somewhere between the conservative nature of Van Pelt and the aggressive nature of – I know I am going way back here – "Air' Coryell. Vrabel won't be having Maye pass the ball 40-50 times per game. That presents too many opportunities for turnovers and injury. At the same time, he wants the offense to be a threat to score on one play from anywhere on the field.

Vrabel has said that he wants Maye to be himself. I take that to mean Vrabel is going to allow Maye to scramble more than he did this year. Essentially, the training wheels are off for Maye. With the added freedom will come the added responsibility of protecting the ball, and his health.

Maye will not be in jeopardy of losing his job if he continues turning the ball over once every game, either via interception or fumble. At the same time, I think Vrabel will not hesitate to use Joe Milton in certain short yardage and goal line situations. Milton is too much of a threat to keep on the sidelines. He could be a turbo-charged version of what Taysom Hill is in New Orleans. It will be interesting to see if Vrabel is comfortable with having Milton as Maye's primary backup or if he will want to bring in another veteran journeyman back quarterback, not named Jacoby Brissett.

Surprisingly, despite defense being Vrabel's calling card, I am astonished to see that the Titans' pass defense was pretty abysmal during Vrabel's tenure there. His rush defenses were stout, but his pass defenses were, usually, in the bottom third of yards allowed passing per game. That is a little disheartening and surprising.

Keon White looks to be the biggest benefactor on defense with Vrabel's hiring. White was very vocal at the end of the season about wanting to be coached harder and having to contemplate his future with the Patriots following the season. Along with the Javani Tavai comments criticizing Patriots' fans in the second-to-last home game, I really think those were the final nails in Mayo's coffin... along with winning the final game.

White appeared to be on the verge of superstardom, especially after getting three sacks and completely dominating the Cincinnati offensive line in the season opener. After following that up with 1.5 sacks against Seattle in Week 2, White had only one sack in the final 15 games.

This is where Vrabel's similarities with Belichick will, hopefully, appease White and bring out the best in him. The ceiling is high, as it is with Christian Gonzalez, who appeared pretty happy when discussing Mayo's firing.

So there is a lot of reason for optimism in Patriot Nation which is more than could have been said a few weeks ago. As Boston Sports Journal's Greg Bedard said, there is now "an adult in charge of the team." Vrabel has earned his stripes in the league, both as a player, a defensive coordinator, and a head coach. He has coached in college with Ohio State and is familiar with the new landscape and how players' psychologies have been affected with being able to transfer from school to school and with being able to make boatloads of money before even turning pro by signing NIL contracts.

If, and when, Vrabel does get the Patriots turned around and into the playoffs and, hopefully, to the Super Bowl, he will know what to expect. He has been there. He knows the demands on travel, media obligations, and practice schedules. He will not sit there all wide-eyed for the first few days.

Experience counts. Vrabel was the right choice now, and he was the right choice last year. As I told a customer at Dunkin' Donuts when he noticed me wearing a Patriots' sweatshirt and asked me what I thought of the Vrabel hiring, I responded, "It should have been done last year. Robert Kraft wasted a year of my life."