Patriots’ Mike Vrabel Sends Early, Pointed Message To Players

FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots officially introduced new head coach Mike Vrabel on Monday.

It’s surprising to absolutely no one that Vrabel wasted no time sending a message to his players.

“It doesn’t matter how we got here,” Vrabel said amid his introductory press conference at Gillette Stadium. “The only thing that’s going to matter is what we do when we’re here. It’s the most important thing that I can tell them, that everybody, in my eyes, is starting over.

” … We’re going to give players an opportunity. We all have to be ready to take advantage of our opportunities — some people get more opportunities, some people get less, but we’re all guaranteed an opportunity. Will you take advantage of it when it comes?”

New England was already pretty close to zero, so it likely won’t take much for players to get into the right mindset. Vrabel’s previous stops with the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns proved that he’s able to forge strong relationships with players — which is paramount if this group is going to buy into his message.

Vrabel didn’t pull punches regarding the specific things he’s looking to change, either. The Patriots are going to have to get rid of something he clearly believes has negatively impacted the team.

“We’re removing entitlement from our football team,” Vrabel said.

Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona was one of a few players and staff members at the kickoff — including center David Andrews and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf — and it certainly seems like he’s ready to buy into the 48-year-old’s message.

“I’m excited to come in the building and get this back to what the fans deserve,” Cardona said.

The Patriots have a long way to go before we can start expecting success, but things certainly aren’t off to a bad start. Trust us, we’d know.