Mike Vrabel Already Putting Patriots Players on Notice

Mike Vrabel is already making some of his demands clear as new head coach of the New England Patriots.

Jan 13, 2025; Foxborough, MA, USA; Mike Vrabel addresses media at a press conference to announce his hiring as the new head coach of the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Mike Vrabel was just introduced as New England Patriots head coach on Monday, but he is already making it clear that he has some demands.

While talking about his "non-negotiables" during his press conference, Vrabel immediately pointed to effort level.

“People ask what non-negotiables are. Our effort and our finish is going to be the contract that we make with our teammates,” Vrabel told reporters. “That will be my job to make sure. That’s the greatest compliment that you could ever give a coach, by the way. Not that he has great plays or great blitz, it’s ‘Man, you guys, your players play their asses off.’ Trust me, when somebody that’s a respected coach tells you that, you’ll thank the players, and you’ll care about them, and you’ll do whatever you can for them because that’s the greatest compliment that you could ever get.”

Vrabel is known to be a rather hard-nosed coach, so his comments do not exactly come as much of a surprise.

However, he is obviouly telling his new Patriots players right from the get go that he won't be tolerating any nonsense, and there appeared to be quite a bit of that in 2024.

Remember: multiple times throughout the year, New England players complained about their roles, and there were even occasions when Pats players called out their teammates.

The Patriots went just 4-13 this past year, and while a dearth of talent was the primary reason for their struggles, one can also point to a lack of cohesion, camaraderie and understanding jobs.

Vrabel experienced some nice success during his six-year run as head coach of the Tennessee Titans between 2018 and 2023, leading the Titans to a couple of AFC South division titles and three playoff appearances.

We'll see if he can reignite things in Foxborough.

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