Sunday’s showdown between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Chargers shares one interesting similarity when it comes to both football teams.
Both are clubs with new head coaches who have each changed the culture of their respective teams.
One key philosophy that Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel talked about when he first came to New England was to build an environment where guys were close and cared about each other. That’s something that clearly stemmed from his days as a player, with many former Patriots talking about how great the locker room was during their time here.
Out in Los Angeles, head coach Jim Harbaugh seems to be doing the same thing in his second year. Like Vrabel, he’s also a former player who knows what it’s like to be in his players’ shoes. He shares the same belief that having everyone supporting one another is an intangible that he agrees is a deal-breaker.
He talked about that on Wednesday, noting that players seeing other guys doing the right things and being involved is something that becomes “contagious,” and it’s one of the biggest things he’s enjoyed seeing this season.
“When I talk about player-led, that’s their intangibles,” said Harbaugh. “That’s led by the elite, best players that work the hardest. That’s the way it is on our team, that care the most, and then that becomes infectious throughout the entire… Contagious would be a better word. Yeah, contagious or infectious throughout the entire team.”
When it comes to their success, Harbaugh has given all of that to the players, which is similar to what Vrabel has said in recent days. Vrabel’s been extremely complimentary of his guys, crediting the players for New England’s success during an impressive 14-3 record in the regular season. He’s talked about the growth and how grateful he’s been when it comes to how his guys have bought into the environment he and his staff have been trying to create.
“I enjoy coaching them. I do,” said Vrabel during his weekly appearance on The Greg Hill Show on WEEI on Monday. “I try to, again, just come in every day, be consistent. They probably get tired of me after a while, but that’s okay. I enjoy the group. I enjoy coaching them. I enjoy watching them improve. I enjoy watching them come together. They have their little inside jokes, and if they’re making fun of me, then I’m glad that they’re at least paying attention, and they’re listening in the meetings. There’s a good banter that we have and a good workflow that we have.”
Both guys also seem to feel the same way when it comes to their respective quarterbacks. During his press conference on Wednesday, Harbaugh also said that Justing Herbert’s performance this season was also MVP-worthy, especially given everything he’s battled through this season, including a broken hand that has hampered him in recent weeks.
“Oh, yeah. He’s had a tremendous season,” he said of Herbert. “Very MVP caliber in every way. Every time, every game, he’s one that’s leading us to victory, willing us to victory. Just doing anything and everything he can for this team, and he does it at the level that is only reserved for the very best in the game to do. It’s been a tremendous year for him.”
After also saying on WEEI Monday that he believed that Maye was the MVP of the league, Vrabel elaborated on that further during his press conference later on that day in front of reporters.
“He’s extremely accurate. He’s made the most of every passing opportunity,” said Vrabel when asked why he felt that way. “We created a lot of X plays. And to create X plays, it’s about 30% scheme. It’s about 70% of the players making a play. And part of that is the quarterback putting it in a great location for run after catch. I think you continue to see that.”
“His ability to extend, use his legs to gain first downs, critical first downs, his ability to score when we’ve asked him to score and run it in. He’s been everything that we’ve asked, and he continues to get better. He’s not satisfied. So I know that our success of where we are right now today, has a lot to do with Drake Maye.”
Meanwhile, Sunday’s battle will be the first time they’ll face each other as head coach of their new teams. In terms of any history going back to their playing days, neither of the two remembers much of their days together in the league. Vrabel said this week he didn’t recall their paths crossing as a player, while a reporter in Los Angeles pointed out to Harbaugh Wednesday that Vrabel did make a tackle against him back in 1997 on a one-yard gain, which the Chargers coach didn’t recall.
“My mind used to be a steel trap,” joked Harbaugh. “It’s an aluminum trap now.”
Just two guys with teams that share a lot of commonalities while hoping to advance on Sunday.
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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.
