https://sports.yahoo.com/article/perry-vrabel-must-promise-respectability-212929938.html
Perry: Vrabel must promise ‘respectability’ from Pats in 2025 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel will address the media Tuesday for the first time since his introductory press conference. When he takes the podium at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, he’ll be expected to share his outlook on free agency, the draft, and a potential bounce-back season in Foxboro.
During last month’s press conference, Vrabel emphasized “removing entitlement” from the Patriots locker room and holding the entire organization accountable. That’s an encouraging start, but it won’t mean much if it doesn’t translate to winning football games. Pats fans are restless after back-to-back 4-13 seasons, and there’s no excuse for being non-competitive in 2025 as they enter the offseason with an abundance of salary cap space and the fourth overall draft pick.
On Monday’s Early Edition, NBC Sports Boston’s Patriots insider Phil Perry shared what he would like to hear from Vrabel when he speaks to reporters.
“Part of what went wrong last year — and there were a number of things that went wrong — but I think part of what went wrong was that attitude of, ‘It’s a mulligan year. This is just a foundational, a building kind of year so that we can get actually to next year,’” Perry said.
“Well, that seeps into your locker room, and then your players stop expecting to win. And then who knows what falls by the wayside when it comes to effort and focus and determination? Because everybody knows, ‘Not our year.’
“So I think Mike Vrabel has to come out strong tomorrow and indicate to us that, ‘We’re gonna compete and not make any sorts of promises in terms of wins and losses, but promise respectability’. Because that has been missing from this organization over the last couple of years now, and there’s no reason for them not to get back to that.”
Unlike Jerod Mayo, who was a one-and-done in New England, Vrabel assumes the role with prior success as an NFL head coach. The former Pats linebacker paced the sidelines with the Tennessee Titans for six seasons with three playoff appearances mixed in (2019-21).
With the Patriots, Vrabel will have the luxury of coaching a young, talented quarterback in Drake Maye. The third overall pick in the 2023 draft showed high upside during his rookie campaign.
Perry believes New England has the formula to regain its reputation as a respectable, winning organization. Now, it’s simply a matter of approaching the offseason with a serious sense of urgency.
“They have a head coach that the entire league respects. They have a young quarterback who looks like he’s going to be a good one for a long time moving forward,” Perry added. “They have tons of money to spend. And no, they don’t have to be splashy in terms of the big names that they bring in in free agency, but how urgent are they to bring in a number of different starters?
“How urgent is Robert Kraft after firing an entire coaching staff and then hiring another one? That’s expensive. How urgent is he going to be in terms of adding players that can really play?
“We just saw it happen in Washington. They added a number of starters on short-term, relatively low-money deals. That’s the kind of thing they should be able to do, sprinkle in a couple of big signings here and there, and they should be a competitive team again next year. I really hope we don’t get the, ‘Hey, don’t expect a lot from us this year because look what we were left with,’ and a shrug of the shoulders. That, to me, is unacceptable.”
After finishing 2023 with a 4-13 record, the Washington Commanders went 12-5 in 2024 and advanced to the NFC Championship, where they fell to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Their quarterback Jayden Daniels, the Offensive Rookie of the Year, led the franchise’s turnaround.
The Patriots will hope Maye — alongside Vrabel, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and offseason reinforcements — can do the same for them in 2025.
https://sports.yahoo.com/article/perry-vrabel-must-promise-respectability-212929938.html
