Mike Vrabel Shuts Down Rumors Surrounding Patriots, Drake Maye Rift

FOXBORO — Mike Vrabel remains confident in Drake Maye. The New England Patriots quarterback, who's struggled to open up the 2026 season, was mentioned as part of a rift with Vrabel.

Ahead of the team's first practice of the week, the head coach shut down any notion that he and his quarterback had an issue with each other.

"Let me just tell you why I'm here. I'm here because Drake was the quarterback," Vrabel said at his Wednesday media availability. "Believe it or not, I had choices to where I wanted to coach, and I wanted to coach here because Drake was the quarterback.

"So I don't really have much of it to add to that about a comment from an unnamed source. But I'll just tell you what I've told numerous people if they want to ask me why I'm here."

The question was posed after WEEI's Greg Hill mentioned that a source inside the facility told him that Vrabel and Maye have issues with each other. Hill mentioned that while Vrabel praises his quarterback publicly, "it goes back to Drake Maye not being his guy."

When asked, Vrabel poked fun at the fact that an "unnamed source" was the reason for the storyline.

"Those are my favorites," he said with a smile.

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Bryan Thomas Jr. (57), right, combines to tackle New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10), center, with defensive tackle Davon Hamilton (52), back, during the third quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Patriots 35-6. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Vrabel was a hot commodity on the head coaching cycle ahead of the 2025 season, and was reportedly in contention for the New York Jets head coaching vacancy. Ultimately, the former Super Bowl champion took the Patriots job — where he led them to the Super Bowl in his first season at the helm.

This Start Hasn't Helped Rift Rumors

This year, the Patriots have gotten off to a rockier-than-expected start. They're 1-2, Maye leads the NFL in turnovers and they have back-to-back games against currently undefeated teams up next (Buffalo Bills, Las Vegas Raiders).

There doesn't appear to be any issues lingering between last year's Coach of the Year and last year's MVP runner-up. But the longer Maye struggles under center, and the more the Patriots appear to start sliding backwards, the longer these rift arguments will flare up.

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel (right) talks to quarterback Drake Maye (10) during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Instead, the Patriots are focused on helping their star quarterback bounce back onto his feet.

"If we want to get where we need to get to, (we're) gonna have to go through bumps along the way," Vrabel said. "This is all part of the journey that we talked about, preparing for the journey."

The Patriots will have a tough task this week as they head to Buffalo for Week 4. If they want to get back into the win column, it's goig to have to come from Vrabel trusting Maye ... and vice versa.

"Everybody can improve," Vrabel said. "Starting with me, my messaging, the way that I coach the football team. Everybody has a job."

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