Joe Mazzulla explains importance of ‘brotherhood’ among Boston coaches as Mike Vrabel attends Celtics practice
"Any time you can just get together with guys that are in the same arena as we are and support each other, I think that's important."
The Celtics welcomed another top name in Boston sports to their practice on Saturday.
Mike Vrabel was in attendance for Saturday’s session a day ahead of the Celtics’ big tilt against the Knicks. It marks one of the first notable appearances the Patriots coach has made outside of Foxborough since the team hired him in January.
Joe Mazzulla shared that he invited Vrabel to attend, jokingly telling reporters that he hoped he wouldn’t show up uninvited.
“It was great,” Mazzulla said. “He obviously brings a championship perspective. But any time you can just get together with guys that are in the same arena as we are and support each other, I think that’s important.”
The Patriots have commonly hosted some of the coaches from the other teams in town for practices during training camp over the years. Mazzulla and Brad Stevens both attended practices when Bill Belichick was the Patriots’ head coach, with the current Celtics head coach also making the trip to Foxborough this past summer when Jerod Mayo was New England’s coach. Jayson Tatum has also been seen at Patriots practices in the past.
During one of those trips to One Patriot Place, Mazzulla got the opportunity to observe the Patriots’ defensive team meetings. He shared in September that he’s implemented what he’s learned from those sessions into the Celtics’ defensive coverages.
Mazzulla didn’t share many details on how involved Vrabel was at Saturday’s practice. However, he noted that Vrabel didn’t speak to the team.
“I just got to say hello,” Celtics guard Derrick White said of Vrabel. “A legend though, for sure.”
Mazzulla also shared that he’s getting to know the new Patriots coach himself, too.
“Not too well,” Mazzulla said when asked how well he knows Vrabel. “Just getting to know him now. But obviously been able to see what he’s been able to do with his work in Tennessee and his work as a player.”
A native of Johnston, Rhode Island, Mazzulla has previously shared that he grew up a Patriots fan, so much so that he took a page out of Belichick’s playbook when the team parted ways with him in January 2024. So, Mazzulla presumably enjoyed the three Super Bowls Vrabel helped the Patriots win during his time as a player, recording a touchdown reception in two of those games. Mazzulla has also entrenched himself in the Boston sports scene since he became the Celtics’ head coach in 2022, attending Red Sox and Patriots games over the past year.
Even though he’s just getting to know Vrabel, Mazzulla signaled that Saturday was just the beginning of a bond that he expects to last for some time.
“Any time the four people that have these jobs for however long they have it, there’s got to be a brotherhood there,” Mazzulla said. “There’s got to be a communication and an understanding of we’re all carrying a responsibility to compete at a high level and bring championships to this city. So, we’ve got to learn from each other and get that perspective.”
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