Patriots Coaches Remember 2001 Super Bowl Team Ahead of 25th Anniversary Celebration

FOXBORO — Ahead of the New England Patriots' Week 5 home game against the Las Vegas Raiders, a ceremony for the team's first Super Bowl championship will take place.

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the now-iconic 2001 team, plus giving Adam Vinatieri his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring at halftime and wearing the Pat Patriot red throwback uniforms, is a love letter to the region as they dip themselves into a pool of nostalgia.

Nobody on this current Patriots team was in the league when that team hoisted the Lombardi Trophy following a 20-17 upset of the St. Louis Rams. Some of them, like Kevin Byard, vaguely remember that team as a young kid, seeing Tom Brady take over for the injured Drew Bledsoe and lead his team through the playoffs.

Andy Borregales grew up admiring Vinatieri and his pressure-packed kicks, but was too young to ever cross paths with him on the football field. Sure, Hunter Henry and Marcus Jones played for Bill Belichick during their Patriots careers, but they were still more than a decade away from entering the NFL.

Feb 3, 2002; New Orleans, LA, USA; New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri (4) and running back Marc Edwards (44) celebrate following Super Bowl XXXVI at the Louisiana Superdome. The Patriots defeated the Rams 20-17. FILE PHOTO; Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

But they still aren't experts. So far, Mike Vrabel has yet to show any of his old highlights to his current players.

"I was eight years old, so I wasn't fully just like into NFL football just yet," Byard said about his memories of that 2001 season. "I've been a football historian ever since I was young. I was watching NFL Films, NFL Network, stuff like that. So I've definitely been tapped in."

So it's up to the New England coaching staff to sit around and look back on that first championship team. Vrabel, a star linebacker that recorded three sacks and nine pass breakups that season after signing as a free agent, has his photo up right outside the Patriots locker room. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was a first-time NFL coach during that 2001 season, working as a personnel assistant.

Feb 3, 2002; New Orleans, LA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) in action against the St. Louis Rams during Super Bowl XXXVI at the Louisiana Superdome. The Patriots defeated the Rams 20-17. FILE PHOTO; Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Patriots Coaches Have Varying Memories From Super Bowl XXXVI

Those two have lasting legacies in New England. Vrabel got into the face of Kurt Warner as Rams quarterback — the leader of the "Greatest Show on Turf" — threw a pick-six to Ty Law. McDaniels would eventually become the team's offensive coordinator three different times.

"I'll see those guys on Saturday. I'll see those guys for a quick dinner," Vrabel said Wednesday. "But it's exciting that there are so many guys that want to come back, and it was a special year for everybody involved."

It's making McDaniels feel a bit old as he looks back on his long coaching tenure.

"Boy I was young, and I just think that team embodied all the right things," McDaniels said. "Kind of fought through some early season adversity with the Drew situation and in the injury, and had a lot of new players getting used to each other and familiar with one another, and how to play together. ... 5-5 after 10 games, and then, as happens often in this league, kind of figure out how we had to win.

Feb 3, 2002; New Orleans, LA, USA; FILE PHOTO; New England Patriots running back (32) Antowain Smith runs for yardage against the St. Louis Rams 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI. Smith gained 92 yards on 17 carries. The win gave the Patriots their first Super Bowl title ever. Mandatory Credit: Tony Tomsic-USA TODAY NETWORK | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"...Just super fond memories for me to start my career in the NFL, just watching that happen and being a little fly on the wall and seeing how it operate and how those guys ended up buying into the way we had to win. And then watching them complete the mission down in New Orleans was really cool."

The team is set to have a number of alumni return to Foxboro for the game. On Friday, Matt Chatham, Bobby Hamilton, Marty Moore, Otis Smith and offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia are taking part in a youth football clinic. The Patriots social team posted an old video of the team celebrating the AFC Divisional game, the Tuck Rule game in the snow against the Raiders, in preparation.

It's becoming a big thing this week at Gillette Stadium.

Other coaches on staff weren't in New England when the Patriots ended up winning the game. Special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer grew up playing quarterback and as a Dallas Cowboys fan, so he wasn't really pulling for the underdog Patriots in that game.

"It was a hell of a game, and I do remember watching it and it was fun to watch," Springer said. "And that kind of started the reign of the wins and me hating the Patriots at the time."

Feb 3, 2002; New Orleans, LA, USA; Fox announcer Terry Bradshaw talks with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick (center) and owner Robert Kraft after Super Bowl XXXVI against the St. Louis Rams at the Louisiana Superdome. The Patriots defeated the Rams 20-17. FILE PHOTO; Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Others, who have extensive coaching backgrounds in New England, appreciate what the Patriots have established in the region. But Doug Marrone has fonder memories of a different era.

"I've always had a great deal of respect," offensive line coach Doug Marrone, who has experience coaching at Coast Guard, Northeastern and Boston College, said — going on to share personal memories about Patriots Hall of Fame lineman John Hannah. "We've studied New England in almost every place where I've been. Respect and acknowledging how hard it is to do what they did, having been in this profession is probably the thing that sticks with me the most."

There was an enduring message for the young McDaniels to learn from that Patriots team, and it's one he wants to carry over into his coaching philosophy 25 years later.

"There's a way to win and everybody can't do it the same way," he said. "I think if you're not too proud to acknowledge what your strengths and weaknesses are, you can figure that out eventually. ... That was a great example of a team that really understand what the phrase complementary football meant."

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