Mike Vrabel Offers Insight Into Upcoming Patriots Culture Changes

The New England Patriots will turn the page in welcoming Mike Vrabel as their newest head coach, which will also come with a culture shift.

Vrabel returns to Foxboro 16 seasons after the 49-year-old’s Patriots departure during his playing career. New England has since hit a rough skit from its winning ways, finishing dead-last in the AFC East two years consecutively, and will enter 2025 with a different head coach for the third time in as many seasons.

With the experience of having played eight seasons in New England while winning three Super Bowl titles, Vrabel is committed to getting the franchise back on track.

“I wanna provide a program that provides their ownership but also their accountability for each other and one that they’ll be proud to be a part of, and that they’ll fight for,” Vrabel told reporters Monday, per team-provided video. “… One thing I’ve realized about culture is that you can find out what your culture looks like when your family, your business or your team is at its low point. It’s not when you’re winning Super Bowls or it’s not when you’re 7-1 or 10-1 because then everybody’s waving towels and they’re excited and they’re happy to come to work. But when you get in the mouth or you’re down or the chips are against you, then you can take a snapshot of your company or your team looks like, and then you’ll know what kind of culture you have.”

New England took a step back last season under first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, demonstrating instability, the reason for an urgent front office offseason response and the immediate firing of Mayo after Week 18. The select number of Patriots fans willing to tolerate the team’s dumpster fire campaign in person at Gillette Stadium were subjected to enduring another year of distraught.

Now, it’s up to Vrabel to guide the team to brighter days ahead.

The Patriots have their quarterback in Drake Maye and a young Second-team All-Pro cornerback in Christian Gonzalez, but that’s far from enough. New England couldn’t bank on Maye’s rookie surge from backup to standout to dig the franchise out of its ever-growing wound, nor was Mayo enough to bandage the pain.

Vrabel has accumulated years of coaching experience, filling sideline positions for the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns, leading him to his most challenging NFL gig yet.

“Excited to get to work, excited to meet the people in this building that have made this place special,” Vrabel said, per team-provided video. “Find out what they need, find out how I can help them. How I can help them do their job better, how we can enhance the stuff that we do well and then find out what the areas of focus are, and then get to work. I wanna galvanize our football team. I wanna galvanize this building. I wanna galvanize our fans.”

New England finished dead last in the division this past season at 4-13 and hasn’t clinched a playoff berth since 2021.