TRANSCRIPT: Mike Vrabel’s Press Conference 2/25
Vrabel spoke to reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday February 25, 2025.
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Here’s the full transcript from New England Patriots head coach, Mike Vrabel’s press conference on Tuesday down in Indianapolis:
On how the coaching staff came together:
“Well, again, just looking at the staff, extremely proud of the staff that we were able to put together. It’s difficult in the National Football League to be able to get every coach that you may covet or may want to get outside the coordinators that aren’t a coordinator at somewhere else just because of the rules. Teams are under contract. Some teams want to keep the coaches that they have. They feel like they’re good coaches. But we were able to put together a great staff, one that we’re really proud of. You asked about Josh [McDaniels], and I would say that having had communications with Josh in my role in Cleveland, he wasn’t under contract with a team, so we had numerous conversations, interviewed a handful of great candidates, and in the end felt like Josh was the best fit to lead our offense, just like Terrell [Williams] was the best fit to lead our defense. And Jeremy [Springer] and Tom [Quinn] were returning to lead the special teams unit.”
On if Terrell Williams is going to call the defense:
“Yeah, that’s the plan. I mean, he’s going to be the defensive coordinator. He’s going to call defenses. He’s an aggressive-minded coach that’s coached really aggressive defensive linemen. That’s his background. I’ve enjoyed the process of what he’s learned when he’s gone to Detroit, what he learned with us in Tennessee, to be able to tie the back in together with the stuff that we want to do with the front and those conversations that have been going on in the last couple of weeks since everybody’s been together.”
On if there was ever a conversation about a permanent job in Cleveland:
“No, I didn’t want to permanently consult in Cleveland for the rest of my career.”
On if there was another opportunity there:
“Different position? No. Enjoyed my time. I appreciate Jimmy [Haslam] and Dee, entire Haslam family, Andrew [Berry] and Kevin [Stefanski], and the relationships that I got to make there. It’s been fun to see those individuals. I walked into the suite last night in between interviews, and they said, ‘Oh, get out of here.’ I said, ‘I don’t work for you guys anymore. You can’t tell me what to do.’ It was fun just to see them. But there was no conversation about any long-term plans there. I would have listened because I didn’t have a job at the time. ”
On what he learned in Cleveland that helped contribute to him as a coach:
“Just how critical… Just the little things. Right? Just the staff and being mindful of when new coaches come on to the staff. I know that Kevin was conscious of that. I think that’s why he … I love the idea of having me work with the offense. It’s something that I’ve thought was very beneficial to those coaches, to me to have conversations, the way that some offensive coaches see things and the way that defensive coaches may see them a little differently. I have been able to do that in New England and moved Ben [McAdoo] over to defense to help Terrell and that staff just look at it from an offensive perspective and things that we can make sure that we’re taken care of and not letting slip.”
On how he’d describe how the team will approach free agency:
“Hopefully, aggressive. I mean, we want to be aggressive. We want to target players that we feel like are going to help us, that are going to be outstanding players, that are going to be outstanding additions to the locker room and the community. If that all fits and the compensation fits. But I’m confident that we’ll be aggressive. We’ve started some of those discussions internally, and I think having different plans and having an option A, an option B, I mean, things are going to change. Everybody’s looking at the same players. So we have to be ready to pivot and adjust and have a vision for each player, I would say, at each level. There’s going to be this high level that things are going to get done very quickly. That’ll transition then to maybe just some mid-range dollars, and then obviously, you look at opportunities. So free agency gets broken down into compensation, and then it gets broken down into opportunity. I feel like we’re in a position to offer both as far as compensation and opportunity for some of these players.”
On what some of the things are that the team has to do to support Drake Maye:
“Well, there’s a lot. Again, I think you always talk about being able to protect him. You have to be able to have some guys that can help him on the edges and be able to make contested catches. You don’t have to be perfect, right? You don’t have to have perfect ball placement. Those are all things that we talk about, trying to support Drake, believing that he is the future of our franchise at quarterback. I’ve been able to meet with him and talk with him and just get to know him as a person. But you have to look at the lines of scrimmage and you look no further than the Super Bowl game where that game was clearly run at the line of scrimmage.”
On the edge rushers coming out at the draft:
“I think it’s a good draft. I think there’s a lot of names, there’s a lot of personalities. Some guys we met last night that were serious. Some guys had a different personality that was maybe a little bit more engaging and I think that’s fun. I think all we’re trying to do through this process is get the players to be as authentic as possible, to figure out where the fit is and how they can add to our roster and our team and the vision that we have for them. I would say that last night was a great start going through that process with the players that came in there, and it just happened to be the D-line and a lot of the edge players and the inside linebackers.”
On if he has friends in the NFL that have made him think a little differently about the way he thinks about coaching or the way he thinks about personnel:
“Well, I’m always going to believe that coaching is about connections and making relationships with players and holding them accountable and being honest and giving them things that are going to help them and being creative. I’ll never stray from that. I’m going to continue to always try to find ways to teach them whatever their capacity is, whatever we have to do to get them the knowledge that they need. We’re going to try to develop players. We’ve done that in our past, in our history, focusing on what they can do as opposed to what they can’t. Having an energy every day to come in the building. It’s a long season, and I have to be able to provide that and let that trickle down through our coaches and our players.”
“Trends, I think, look how critical the nickel position has become and how dynamic that player can be. You need guys that can cover, obviously, but the edges of the defense to be able to rush and affect the quarterback. I don’t know if any of that will change. There’ll be scheme things that change. Some teams believe in RPO, some believe in trying to block the extra defender, some teams believe in reading the end and letting the quarterback … Those are things that we’re always going to adapt and adjust to and add when we feel like is important. But the fundamentals and the technique, our effort in which we play with, I think those will withstand the test of time regardless of what scheme you want to run.”
On after getting a look at the roster, if he views this as a long-term rebuild or if he’s looking for rapid improvement:
“Well, we have to improve. I think that’s the goal. Our expectations aren’t going to change. It’s going to be to win the division, it’s going to be to host home playoff games, and it’s going to be to compete for championships. We’re never going to put a timetable or any sort of prediction on when that may happen, but it has to happen. It’s going to start April seventh when our guys come in and we’re going to build a program. We’re going to have a foundation. We’re going to give them something to believe in and to be proud of, and hopefully, they’re able to hold each other accountable to that standard. And if not, then my job is to protect the football team.”
On if he’s gotten a sense at all locally that fans don’t have the appetite for a longer process when it comes to getting there:
“Well, I don’t think anybody has a longer appetite. We all want to win. That’s why we’re here. That’s why I got hired. It’s to win. It’s to put a product on the field that they can be excited about, that they can care about, and they can support. That’s the whole goal. They shouldn’t have to wait very long. But we also have to understand that we’re not going to fix every issue on the first day of free agency, or we’re not going to fill every hole on the first or second day of the draft.”
On if given the amount of salary cap space they have if he’ll feel comfortable paying a free agent player above their market value in order to ensure they fill a need:
“Well, I’m sure, I like to shop like everybody else. When you go and there’s only one of a certain car, maybe you have to pay a little bit more for that one car because there’s only one of them. When you start to get into a range where you feel like there’s an area where players are comparable and you like three or four players in a certain area for a certain role, you may not have to overspend. But it’s free agency. I think that everybody overspends sometimes in free agency.”
On how much input Josh McDaniels has when it comes to which players are signed or drafted:
“I would say it would be the same as our entire coaching staff. I want them to be included in those conversations. The one thing I’ve learned as a head coach is that there’s always going to be players that coaches are going to covet, and there’s going to be players that scouts are going to covet for certain reasons, and they call them traits and all this other stuff. Coaches want players that they can trust. When we come across those players, I always chuckle because as being a position coach, I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, this guy is going to love this guy,’ and then ‘the scouts are going to love this guy,’ and then they’re going to sit there and argue. So I see that come up, and I can appreciate that. But our coaches are going to have input. They’re going to evaluate them. They’ve evaluated the free agents. They’ve turned the reports in for us to look at and review, and then we’ll give them a draft list, and then they’ll provide information on those players as well.”
On the fact he’s assembled coaching staffs in the past and how his thinking has evolved in the number of assistants he has, like having a passing game coordinator, and if that’s changed over the years:
“I think a lot of times we just want everybody to have a clearly defined role, do the best job in the job that they’re in, and then as they excel in that role that we look for ways to give them more to do. We never want to hold anybody back. We want to provide opportunity. If we can’t provide that same opportunity with the Patriots,, then we would allow them to go and pursue other opportunities. But the whole idea is that you teach people a system and they understand who you are. You have a loyalty and a trust to it, and that you’re able to promote from within. I think that there’s been some specialized things. I also think that those are ways to reward individuals and maybe just to provide another title. But their input is always going to be valued and is going to be the same.”
On if it’s necessary to have bigger coaching staffs compared to 5 or 10 years ago:
“Well, our practice squad has increased. To make sure that we’re as efficient as possible, I think that if you can identify some young quality control coaches that are… We have to have energy. It’s a long season. I don’t want anybody in there till midnight coming back in at 4: 00 in the morning. I just don’t think that’s healthy. I don’t think that’s healthy for the individual. I don’t think that’s healthy for their families. I think the people that benefit the least are the players. We have to come into this meeting each and every day, sell our vision, sell our plan on how to win each and every week. If we don’t have enough people to remain efficient, then sometimes people get worn down, and I don’t want to see that happen. Now, we don’t want people just standing around doing nothing. We’re going to make sure that everybody has a job and a role on our staff.”
On how he feels Tom Brady is going to do as an owner with the Las Vegas Raiders:
“How hard is it? It can’t be that hard, right? It’s not like playing. But no, Tom will provide great input. It’s important that he’s involved in our league and I think that that’s a great thing for the National Football League. ”
On the fact he mentioned the division being a goal, and what he believes it will take to get them over the hump against the Bills:
“I think you have to continue to win your home football games. You have to make playing at Gillette a tough place to play. Then you have to go on the road and be able to win games in the fourth quarter when you go on the road, whether that’s in the heat in Miami or cold wind, rain, whatever may be in Buffalo. Obviously, the history and the tradition with the Jets and that rivalry. It’s exciting, but it also isn’t just about the Buffalo Bills. I mean, there’s a lot of other elements to it. They’ve been extremely successful, how talented … I’ve always appreciated Sean [McDermott]’s teams, the way they play with the effort, the toughness, the fundamentals, and then obviously what Josh [Allen] has given them from a quarterback standpoint.”
On what the day-to-day difference is in the mood between an organization that has a quarterback and one that needs one:
“A mood? Well, it’s up to each individual. We can’t rely on having a certain player to dictate what our mood is going to be. We dictate the mood that we have and the demeanor and the outlook that we have based on whoever we have. But if you’re asking me what my mood is, I’m excited, energetic, positive, looking to build and get to work.”
“Thank you.”
(Editor’s Note: This transcription was done using the available footage and is subject to typographical errors. Please let me know of any errors in the comments below.)
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