Cassel: Vrabel will ‘make his presence felt right away’ with Patriots

https://sports.yahoo.com/cassel-vrabel-presence-felt-away-034029268.html

Cassel: Vrabel will ‘make his presence felt right away’ with Patriots originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots have hired Mike Vrabel to be their next head coach, and we shouldn’t have to wait long before he puts his stamp on the franchise.

Vrabel is a no-nonsense coach. He holds his players accountable and sets a high standard for each level of the organization.

One interesting storyline going forward is how Vrabel will mesh with the front office, and more specifically, executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf.

It’s no secret that Wolf and his staff have not done a good job acquiring talent through the NFL Draft and free agency. The Patriots have arguably the worst roster in all of football.

🔊 Patriots Talk Podcast: Matt Cassel says Vrabel will add instant stability and accountability to Patriots | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

How much power will Vrabel have in roster decisions? That remains to be seen, but as one of his former teammates Matt Cassel explained on NBC Sports Boston’s Patriots Talk Podcast, the new head coach won’t be shy about voicing his opinions.

“He’s a guy that’s not going to hold any punches,” Cassel said. “He doesn’t care about your feelings. He’s going to get it right. And so that will be an interesting dynamic to see how it all goes with Eliot Wolf and everybody else in that organization because he will be the clear, defined leader.

“And I don’t think that he takes this job unless that was expressed to him that he’s going to have most of the control over this roster, over big decisions being made. That’s really, I feel, the only way this works because when you come into a situation and you got a GM in place or a player personnel guy and a new head coach, you have to make him feel comfortable that the decisions that are going to be made are going to be decisions that he wants the organization to go directionally.

“And Mike, again, the one thing I’ll say, he doesn’t lack confidence. He knows what he wants to do and he’s going to go in and make his presence felt right away.”

The Patriots have a lot of roster weaknesses to address over the offseason, particularly on offense. It’s extremely important for the team to surround quarterback Drake Maye with more talent at the skill positions and along the offensive line.

Cassel thinks Vrabel will be able to help recruit players to come to New England. And it also helps that the Patriots are projected to have the most salary cap space of any team (around $130 million).

“I think (Maye) impressed everybody, and he was above and beyond where I thought he was going to be this season, particularly with the roster on the offensive side of the ball and this offensive line,” Cassel said. “I think that’s where you have to start if you’re the Patriots, and they’ve got the money to address it this offseason.

“Bringing in a guy like Mike Vrabel, who’s not only respected as a player but also as a coach, and he’s had success in the league, I think for namesake alone, he’s going to be able to recruit guys to come and play for him. Anybody that you talk to in the Tennessee Titans organization, they loved him as the head coach.

“They thought he was a guy that came in, gave them stability, had great messaging, and at the same time, he was somebody that led in a way that understood the player. When they needed a little bit of time off, he gave them that. But he also coached them hard, held them accountable. He understands what he wants to do with this team, and I think that they’ll be able to turn around pretty quickly.”

Check out the full episode below: