FOXBORO, Mass. — The Patriots will probably spend a few weeks hyping up the arrival of Mike Vrabel, but at some point, the work needs to start.

New England needs to completely rebuild the roster, and the process very well could include some fresh faces. Vrabel needs to establish a new culture, which almost certainly will require commitment from folks currently in and out of the offices at One Patriot Place. Drake Maye needs support to reach his full potential, which likely means developing new relationships.

Vrabel knows that it won’t be easy making all of those things happen, but he outlined some specific plans during his introductory press conference at Gillette Stadium on Monday. Maye’s piece of the puzzle was particularly interesting, however.

“(I want to) put great people around him. I would say that my involvement will be as it relates to game management and situational awareness and where we are on the football field and trying to develop him as a leader of the offense,” Vrabel said. “… Drake is going to be his own person, but I’m going to give him some things that I feel like are necessary to help us win football games. We have to be a very efficient passing football team. When you look at statistically what wins in the National Football League, our ability to affect the other team’s quarterback and our ability to provide for an efficient quarterback and passing game is a high contributor to success.”

Maye’s rookie season was beyond what the organization could have hoped for, but uncertainty regarding the coaching staff has kept folks cautiously optimistic at best. The Patriots are expected to bring in new coordinators on both sides of the ball, which means the soon-to-be-second-year quarterback could be experiencing something totally new under Vrabel.

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It’s not like that’s a bad thing, though. Vrabel is clearly excited to work with his young signal-caller.

“I think the ability to have open dialogue with Robert and Jonathan Kraft was something that was critical,” Vrabel said when asked why he chose New England. “Eliot (Wolf) and his staff, obviously what I believe and what everybody else believes is a young, dynamic quarterback… we’re willing to help these players that need to have some of those things changed and the commitment to the team, like, we’re willing to do that.”

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Jerod Mayo, for instance, took the opposite approach. The Patriots leaned on offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney and senior offensive assistant Ben McAdoo to lead the development of Maye in 2024, but things will clearly shift under Vrabel.

It remains to be seen whether or not that will lead to positive results.

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Featured image via David Butler II/Imagn Images