After two frustrating seasons, the New England Patriots are now just over a month away from kicking off training camp ahead of what might be their first real competitive campaign in quite some time.
That’s an odd sentence to type. The Tom Brady situation aside, if you had asked me a decade ago if we’d ever see Bill Belichick fired after he essentially sabotaged himself with a roster so bad on the offensive side of the football that his team was non-competitive, I probably would have said you were crazy.
I think most expected him to go out on his own terms. The belief was he’d likely eclipse Don Shula’s win record in one final gesture against the late coach who nicknamed him ‘Beli-cheat.’ Seeing him walk away on his own is how the majority of people probably felt -and hoped – it would end.
But not everything great ends well. Unless you’re Brady. And even he hung around a season longer than he probably should have.
What’s transpired since then when it comes to Belichick is even crazier, but we won’t go there. The hope now, for his sake, is that the story there will get back to football and that North Carolina will simply become an interesting storyline to follow this fall.
Like Brady, life after Belichick certainly didn’t go well here in New England. Jerod Mayo’s rise was certainly interesting to see unfold, but that clearly didn’t play out quite like we thought it would. The former linebacker was part of Belichick’s staff, and the overall feeling was that he was well-liked and respected. The eventual discussion of his potential post-Belichick ascension, especially after Josh McDaniels’ departure to Las Vegas, seemed like it made sense. Continuity is a word that Robert Kraft had preached for years, and it was obvious that he hoped that’s how things would eventually go when Belichick’s time here someday came to an end.
But when it came to Mayo, it’s not like he had much to work with. He was left with Belichick’s roster that had virtually no talent on the offensive side of the football. That saw them head into free agency where they were shunned by any potential offensive help they tried to acquire, with the notion of quarterbacks like Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe (and eventually Jacoby Brissett) obviously not moving the needle.
Some will argue they held the #3 pick and that one hypothetical fact should have excited potential additions enough to pack up their families and move to Foxboro.
However, offensive skill players all seem to have one similar personality trait, with an agent who likely adivses them the same thing.
If winning isn’t necessarily an option, they at least tend to lean on landing somewhere they can be productive. Because that directly affects their future earnings.
Everyone at the time knew Drake Maye was a risk with a high ceiling but a low floor. The discussion was mixed, with those who were positive on him feeling he could turn out to be a solid player, but the timeframe in which that happened was unknown.
The signing of Brissett ensured that they had a veteran in place to buy Maye time to learn, but no one knew how long that would take. And Brissett’s history as a middling backup probably didn’t excite any of them. The key name that shunned them, Calvin Ridley, probably wouldn’t have finished with 64 catches for 1,017 yards here like he did in 2024 in Tennessee. And numbers like that will certainly play a role in his next attempt to get paid.
Maye Wasn’t Exactly a Sure Thing
At the time, there was also talk about the possibility of the Patriots trading down, perhaps stocking up on draft choices and instead settling on someone like J.J. McCarthy. His future remains to be seen in Minnesota after a season-ending injury before his rookie campaign even kicked off.
Meanwhile, the gamble on Maye so far feels like a win this team desperately needed. His rookie performance definitely influenced this offseason, which was prevalent back in March, given how much differently free agency played out compared to a year ago.
But oddly enough, as bad as the 2024 Patriots season was, last year arguably feels like it had more to do with the coaching staff and less to do with the players. Maye ended up being the bright spot behind the mish-mash of guys lining up in front of him. The club had 11 different offensive line combinations and 16 different offensive linemen see time last year, leading to a lot of the issues they had on that side of the ball.
On defense, the hope was that given the talent they had, along with the fact that Mayo was still there, and that Demarcus Covington was promoted to defensive coordinator, that continuity would see their success continue. But seeing that unit get out-coached and be forced to scramble week in and week out while trying to react to each opponent (without any answers) became horribly apparent.
Add in the fact that Mayo had a tough time keeping his thoughts in house, and it was a recipe for disaster. The pattern of saying something he shouldn’t in the heat of the moment, followed by walking it back days later, became habitual. Many of those comments put the heat on his players, who, we learned after the season, lacked confidence in what they were doing out on the field.
Owner Robert Kraft and his son Jonathan clearly didn’t want to see Mayo fail. But they likely took a pulse from the players, and the overall temperature of the locker room is what probably made the move to Mike Vrabel seem like one that absolutely needed to happen.
Vrabel’s Impact Has Already Been Significant
So far, Vrabel is clearly the big difference. The entire feel of this offseason has been a breath of fresh air, and every press conference we’ve heard has had substance and a vision since the moment he was officially introduced.
“We’re going to earn the right to be here every day,” said Vrabel during his first press conference back in January. “We’re going to remove entitlement from our football team. We’re going to get everything that we’ve earned from the head coach to the position coaches, all the way down to the players. We’re going to earn the right to be here every single day.”
He’s been building this team accordingly, and the turnover this offseason has been notable. Vrabel has already turned over the majority of the roster on both sides of the football, whether it’s been making tough decisions like jettisoning captains or bringing in guys who fit what he’s trying to do here. It’s reminiscent of the 2001 offseason, which saw Belichick shed a lot of the players who were an issue during his first year. He then brought in guys like Anthony Pleasant, Vrabel, Roman Phifer, Brian Cox, and Larry Izzo, essentially hard-nosed veterans who were leaders and were guys he believed fit the culture he was trying to establish.
Obviously, Brady’s emergence that year started it, but those players helped build a locker room that shaped that season and played a key role in seeing them finish the job that February.
Vrabel seems to be following the same blueprint, and his approach has already turned heads. He’s been extremely hands-on in every facet thus far, and all the footage we’ve seen of him out there working one-on-one with positions across the roster is hard not to appreciate. It’s seemingly garnered him respect and even adoration throughout the locker room, and guys appear to be really excited about playing for him.
“Well, I think it’s important,” Vrabel said a couple of weeks ago. “I think, one, I enjoy it. I like it. I love it. I try to be as knowledgeable at every position as I possibly can, some more than others.”
“We reference the quarterback, but having something at each position group that can maybe translate from my perspective to help the player. But then I also think that where the head coach is is probably what the players think are important. So I try to be a little bit everywhere.”
But what really stands out is just how different things have been. It’s all been organized. There’s been a purpose in everything they’ve done, and everything Vrabel has talked about hasn’t just been coach-speak. It’s all played out exactly how you’d expect.
Heading into training camp next month, it feels like there’s a process in place to get this group in a position where they’ll finally be a thorn in their opponents’ side this season.
The other good news is that the roster has also improved, especially on offense. They now hopefully have their future left tackle in first-round pick Will Campbell, and the other side has an experienced veteran in Morgan Moses, at least in the short term. Mike Onwenu gets to return to his natural position at right guard, while Garrett Bradbury and rookie Jared Wilson will seemingly battle it out at center.
The biggest question is at left guard. Cole Strange, if he’s healthy, would appear to be the likely favorite there, especially with Wes Schweitzer’s sudden retirement last week. But even still, it’s an overall improvement from a year ago, and it’s a tough, hard-nosed group that should allow them to be more effective offensively.
Add in the addition of Stefon Diggs, rookie draft pick Kyle Williams, and the surprising emergence of undrafted standout Efton Chism, and it’s a wide receiver group that’s going to be extremely competitive in the coming weeks. Rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson has so far seemed to be a nice complement to Rhamondre Stevenson, with Henderson showing off speed and explosiveness that has caught the eye of reporters who saw him out there during the club’s recent open practices.
All in all, there seems to be enough talent to make them dangerous. The hope now is that Vrabel can do what Belichick once did, and that’s bring them all together and get them back in contention in a Conference where the balance of power has certainly shifted.
Overall, with Vrabel at the helm, it’s just a different feeling. Whether or not you believe they’ll be in the mix next January might be a different story, but it’s safe to say there are more people who are now unsure of what to expect compared to those who after last year might have written them off completely.
Either way, it sets the stage nicely ahead of one of the most intriguing camps in recent memory. What happens from there when September gets here, remains to be seen.
Unlike Mayo, Vrabel hasn’t made any predictions on what their record might be in 2025. But so far, his actions have already said enough to make people believe it should be better than the last two seasons. How far they ultimately go feels like the biggest question, which shows you how different things are under his leadership.
Fans will get their first glimpse of the team next month when they hold their first public practice on July 23rd on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
