Mike Vrabel says he’s ‘beyond comfortable’ with Eliot Wolf, talks offensive philosophy, coordinators
"I want to try to put a program around our coaches, our support staff, our personnel department, our players most especially, that people want to be a part of, that they’re proud of.”
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Mike Vrabel is diving right into things as he takes over as coach of the Patriots, with plenty on the to-do list in his crucial first offseason.
The roster rebuild appears that it will be handled in tandem with Eliot Wolf, New England’s de facto general manager, who managed to get through the disappointment of 2024 unscathed.
Vrabel and Wolf met for a couple of hours to go through the roster, the new coach told WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” That relationship has already come under scrutiny, considering Vrabel’s previous issues with the front office in Tennessee.
“No, we didn’t win enough games in Tennessee,” Vrabel said, half-joking. “I think that was the problem.”
Vrabel was asked if he was comfortable working with Wolf, who took the reins of the personnel department after Bill Belichick’s departure.
“Absolutely,” Vrabel said. “Beyond comfortable. I wouldn’t be here, and I think through the conversations and the interview process, and the conversations with Eliot and with Robert [Kraft] and with Jonathan [Kraft], and just trying to put a roster together and a program.
“To me, that’s the biggest thing, I want to try to put a program around our coaches, our support staff, our personnel department, our players most especially, that people want to be a part of, that they’re proud of.”
There also has been plenty of interest in what the offense will look like under Vrabel, whose Titans squads were among the most run-heavy teams in the NFL. From Vrabel’s perspective, the offensive philosophy was shaped more by having the league’s most productive running back in Derrick Henry.
“Our best player was our running back,” Vrabel said. “So we tried to structure the offense, build the offense around what we felt like was our best player and what was our strength. When we did have pieces around Derrick that we felt comfortable with, we threw it just as successfully as we ran it.
“You base whatever system and scheme that you have around the players you have. I do think there’s a lot of versatility around, not only myself but also, hopefully, the coaches that we hire.”
Vrabel’s tenure did feature a high point for a once-struggling quarterback in Ryan Tannehill, who missed the first few games of the season in 2019 before returning to post a career year. Tannehill started 10 games and threw for 2,742 yards, 22 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and a league-best 117.5 passer rating, which was enough to earn him a Pro Bowl nod and the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award.
Vrabel did agree, however, that the Patriots offense’s bright spot being quarterback Drake Maye — rather than a star running back like he had in Tennessee — could lead to a change in focus from his Titans offenses.
“Sure,” Vrabel said. “And again, we want to throw it as often as we can while remaining efficient and explosive.”
It remains to be seen who will be the primary architect of that offense as Vrabel begins to round out his coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt seems almost certain to be out the door; the vacancy he opens may be Vrabel’s most crucial hire as the Patriots look to continue developing Maye.
Told that former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski had said the first call should be to longtime New England coordinator Josh McDaniels, Vrabel didn’t exactly provide a ringing endorsement.
“Um … yeah, I mean, I’m going to look at every possible candidate that can help us,” Vrabel said. “We’re going to start that process today, this afternoon, and visit with some great coaches and then we’ll see where things go.”
Asked directly if McDaniels was on the list of candidates, Vrabel responded: “Yeah, there’s a long list. I’ve had a relationship with Josh, and I have relationships with other offensive coaches and defensive coaches that we’re going to interview and want to bring in here.”
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