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How Brian Hoyer learned to never trash talk new Patriots coach Mike Vrabel
"This guy is going to be the alpha dog in the room."
Patriots center and “The Quick Snap” host David Andrews has never played with or for new head coach Mike Vrabel.
But co-host Brian Hoyer, who played for the Houston Texans in 2015 when Vrabel was the team’s outside linebackers coach, knows the three-time Super Bowl champion-turned-coach well.
His message for players and opposition alike? Don’t get into a war of words with the ultra-competitive Vrabel: “This guy is going to be the alpha dog in the room. That’s just who he was as a player, who he’s been as a coach,” Hoyer said on Episode 22 of “The Quick Snap.”
He found that out the hard way as a backup QB in Houston going against Vrabel’s defense in practice.
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“This dude still had the passion of a player as a coach. No one talked more [expletive] from the defensive side of the ball during practice than Vrabel. I remember at one point being like, “Vrabes, you’re not playing anymore. Let these guys [expletive] talk us during training camp. That was the worst thing you could do because once you started going back and forth with Vrabes, this guy’s going for the throat,” the former Patriots QB said.
In other words: get ready for the Patriots to have some edge to them in 2025.
Vrabel, who was well-known for his competitive nature and love of getting under best friend Tom Brady’s skin by playing scout team safety during practice, has promised a culture reset after a disappointing 2024.
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His past tenure as the Tennessee Titans’ head coach (54-45 record) and his opening presser with Patriots media provide a glimpse of what he could now bring to New England.
“He exudes confidence, he exudes a well-versed knowledge of the game –obviously, he played it. The one thing that I loved [from his press conference] … ‘I can relate to every player in that room. I started off as a guy who had to grind it out, special-teams guy in Pittsburgh, and then I was a free agent. I went to New England for the opportunity, not the money. I took advantage of that opportunity. I became a player who got those contracts, then I got traded. I started to become a mentor. I became a guy who was a coach in the room.’ I think that goes a long way,” Hoyer added.
Whether it’s his hard-nosed demeanor or his insistence that the Patriots will rely more on analytics than they have in the past, there’s a lot of welcome change on the horizon with Vrabel in town.
“Julian [Edelman], on his podcast, they talked about Vrabel with [former Patriots general manager Scott Pioli, he put it well,” Hoyer said.
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“Like, [former Patriots left tackle] Matt Light is gonna prank you, and it’s going to be laughs and it’s all good-hearted.
“Vrabel is going come at you. That’s a very accurate description.”
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