Patriots' new HC Mike Vrabel joins! How does he like being back in Foxboro? Does Vrabel want any roster control?
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00:00Joining us right now here at Gillette Stadium,
00:03the new head coach of the New England Patriots
00:08already geared up in, what are we calling this?
00:11Like a half, half?
00:13That's a quarter zip.
00:14A quarter zip, half hood.
00:16We had a guy here who had a particular style
00:19since game time attire.
00:21You seem to lean toward the half zip vest.
00:24Love the quarter zip.
00:25Yeah, we'll cut the sleeves off here later in the day.
00:27I've been busy.
00:29They couldn't cover this guy on the roof.
00:33He would get it down to the end zone, I'd go in and score.
00:35But during the field, they couldn't cover it.
00:37That was when Fowler, you see, scored the touchdown.
00:41He started stealing his catches, though, in the end zone.
00:43He wasn't happy about that.
00:45It wasn't.
00:45It wasn't too hard to steal from Christian.
00:51How are you?
00:51Fantastic.
00:53Awesome.
00:53Great to be back in the building.
00:55Oh, yeah.
00:55I mean, already, you know, Elliot and I
00:58have been meeting here for a couple hours
00:59and just trying to go through the roster
01:01and have a lot of meetings and get through the staff
01:04and the support staff and everything that's
01:06critical and the scouts and get to know them
01:08and see where they're going and how
01:09we can help and support them.
01:11You want us to start easy or go to wherever you want to go?
01:14So on the topic of Elliot, and this may not be the case,
01:18but it seemed like the case in Tennessee
01:21was that there became an issue when it came to you
01:25earning full roster control and kind of wanting
01:28to be in that role in addition to the head coach role.
01:32If that's accurate.
01:32No, we didn't win enough games in Tennessee.
01:34I think that's the problem.
01:37No, that's never been an issue.
01:40So are you comfortable with this arrangement?
01:43Absolutely.
01:43Beyond comfortable, I wouldn't be here.
01:45I wouldn't be here.
01:46And I think that through the conversations and the interview
01:49process and the conversations over the weekend with Elliot
01:53and with Robert and Jonathan and just trying to put
01:57a roster together in a program, that to me,
01:59that's the biggest thing.
02:00I want to try to put a program around our coaches,
02:04our support staff, our personnel department, our players most
02:07especially, that people want to be a part of,
02:09that they're proud of, that they invest time and energy in.
02:12And we can start to see results beginning here
02:17in the offseason when we don't have the players
02:19and then when we have the players in April
02:20that these guys are like, OK, I feel
02:22like what we're doing is going to help me.
02:24We don't want to waste anybody's time, especially
02:26the players' time.
02:27So this is all very important to me.
02:29And it's all very calculated after having done it
02:32for six years in Tennessee.
02:34Mike, when you look at coaching, you've
02:37been in this business a long time.
02:38The most important position it looks like you
02:40have covered in Drake May, how important
02:43is it now for you guys to make sure you put
02:48the right pieces around them, especially in free agency
02:50where it looks like you guys have some money?
02:53And when we think about that, elite wide receivers
02:56have done such a great job.
02:57You look at your former player in AJ Brown
03:00and what that means.
03:01What's the kind of thought process going
03:04in that direction moving forward?
03:05Well, again, we talked about this passer rating efficiency
03:09in which we throw the football, right?
03:10You don't have to throw it 50 times.
03:13I think an interesting stat was I
03:14think that quarterbacks that attempt more than 50 passes
03:19a game have won 22% of their games, other than Tom Brady.
03:24So he's won like 70% of the games.
03:26And he's had to throw for more than 45 times or something.
03:29So if you don't have Tom Brady, then you probably
03:31shouldn't throw it 45 or 50 times a game.
03:34That's not the point here.
03:35The point is that when we throw it,
03:37which will be as many times as we need to,
03:40that you want to be efficient, right?
03:41That you want to have great completion percentage, which
03:43then leads to receivers, going back
03:46to the question about receivers, receivers
03:48that have great catch radius, right,
03:50that can create separation, that are
03:52good against contested catches, right?
03:54Because when you're contested and PBUs go up in the air,
03:58then they get intercepted, right?
03:59And then now that leads to turnovers, which
04:01then changes field position and all these things.
04:03So we have to focus on the line because I
04:06think that the best teams right now in the National Football
04:08League are the ones that still have the best offensive lines
04:11that are changing the line of scrimmage,
04:14protecting the passer, have versatility in a run game,
04:17can run a zone scheme, can run a gap scheme.
04:19Because I don't think you can just major
04:21and just stay in the zone, right?
04:23Because teams that penetrate and disrupt the zone play,
04:26you've got to be able to find ways
04:28to double and move gaps and change gaps
04:31and force them to move positions.
04:33So with that being said, want to focus
04:36on some of those areas, offensive line.
04:39We'll take a look and see what skill we have here at receiver
04:42and give everybody a new opportunity to kind of come in.
04:45It's a clean slate.
04:47Decide who wants to be here by their actions
04:49and then continue to evaluate.
04:51You brought up Tom Brady.
04:52Was the reporting accurate that he reached out and you said,
04:55nope, I'm already going to do it?
04:57Well, I don't know if that was the case.
04:59Tom and I have had many discussions.
05:01I think we're friends.
05:04We're teammates.
05:05We're friends.
05:05We've continued to talk throughout my career
05:08in coaching, his career as he played,
05:11and now his new transition.
05:12So we've talked and we'll continue to talk.
05:16But this is the place where I wanted to be
05:19and this is the place that I'm at.
05:20Would he have been a good boss?
05:22I mean, what's his management style?
05:25I don't know.
05:27I didn't stick around long enough
05:28to find out in the conversation.
05:31Mike, I love what you said about culture yesterday
05:33and how building a culture, it's important
05:35when you're at your lowest.
05:36So when you look at this team in particular,
05:39theoretically, how long will it take to build back a culture?
05:42Well, that's all based on the players
05:43and that are willing to invest and change behavior
05:46if it's needed to be changed and how quickly they
05:49hold each other accountable, how close we become.
05:54I think we're going to spend a lot of time
05:56in being very conscious of the relationships in the building.
06:03And I'm new here and haven't been here since 2008.
06:06And so I want to make sure that how can I
06:09help the support staff?
06:10But when the players come in, they have to know each other.
06:14The coaches have to know the players.
06:15There has to be a relationship there
06:17that's built on trust and built on communication
06:20and trying to give the players exactly what they need.
06:23So I hate to put a timeline on it
06:26because I don't know that could happen quicker.
06:28That could happen.
06:29It may go into training camp.
06:30And you need to go through training camp.
06:32Training camp's essential to building a team
06:35and going through practice and staying with each other
06:39for a lot of hours.
06:40Sometimes you get in arguments in training camp.
06:42Sometimes there's fights.
06:43Sometimes there's things that happen.
06:46But you're all doing it just to continue to build a team.
06:49Sorry, do you find that being a coach
06:52and seeing from your time playing to Tennessee to now,
06:55there's been a change in the way in which the player is or acts?
06:59Because we talk about the millennial player right now
07:01and how different that is.
07:02Have you had to adjust your coaching style
07:04to make that better?
07:06Well, I just have to be conscious of the relationship
07:09and the connection the players are coming in,
07:12what they need each day for me to be successful.
07:15So Jermaine may need one personality and one style.
07:20Greg may need something else.
07:21And I have to do a great job of understanding
07:23what each one of those players needs, how they respond best.
07:27I like to be coddled.
07:29Yes.
07:31That didn't surprise me one bit.
07:33I can tell.
07:34I've known that for 20 years.
07:36Yes.
07:38I didn't have to coddle you when I was kicking your ass
07:41all over the golf course.
07:42That is not going to happen.
07:43But I think that the system, we are getting a different player.
07:48And whether it's the millennial or whether it's specifically
07:51the college structure right now, which allows for transfer,
07:55which again, they're 18.
07:57Some of them make a decision that they
07:59wish they could have over.
08:01And I like some of the idea of being
08:03able to go to another college.
08:04But there's an NIL.
08:06They're being compensated.
08:08And so I think that they come to our league,
08:10and not every one of them.
08:11But some of them do have to change some behavior.
08:15And we want to remove entitlement from our program.
08:18We want to make sure that we're not
08:19entitling players to do something and earn something
08:23by not having worked for it.
08:24Wiggy and Ty Law on this show.
08:26Ty's going to be on at 9.
08:28Even Ninkovich talked about the difference
08:31that there was in this locker room now and then
08:35with guys holding other guys accountable.
08:39Was that your experience?
08:40Well, that was my experience here.
08:42But that's not like that every year.
08:44That's hard to create.
08:46That's a unique relationship that is between the players.
08:51And again, I have to try to, and along with Elliott,
08:53and our personnel department, is bring in those types of players
08:57that will do that.
08:59And again, if they don't, then that's
09:01where I have to step in and protect the team.
09:04It's a little bit easier when you got a guy like Willie Mack
09:06walking around the locker room.
09:07Right.
09:08To police him.
09:09You'd run and hide.
09:11You'd go run and hide in the bathroom.
09:12Hey, I know my role, man.
09:14I know my role.
09:15I think that's great.
09:17I watched you and Teddy were on the Man in the Arena
09:20from years ago talking about that third Super Bowl
09:22championship season.
09:24And I thought it was so well done
09:25and how you and Teddy were discussing
09:27that you were the ones that created the culture that some
09:31referred to as the Patriot way or whatever,
09:33where you held each other accountable.
09:35It wasn't about doing what was necessary.
09:38It was about doing everything you could
09:40and demanding that from the people
09:42that you saw walk into their car at 730 or whatever.
09:45Yeah, you just wanted to be able to know
09:47that somebody else was as invested as you were
09:50personally, but also was willing to put the team first
09:53and make a decision that was maybe better for somebody else
09:57than it was for your own personal situation.
10:01And then as far as being on time,
10:02studying, learning, how hard you played,
10:04how hard you were willing to communicate on the practice
10:07field, how well you came back in shape.
10:11We don't have a whole lot of time with the rules
10:15that we have in the offseason.
10:17So it's critical that they come back in shape.
10:20And that's a commitment that they make.
10:21We don't have time to probably get back in shape
10:24once April starts.
10:25If we're not ready to go come April,
10:30there'll be some catching up to do.
10:31Mike Brable is our guest at Gillette Stadium
10:34for the first time as the head coach of the New England
10:36Patriots.
10:36I have been demanding that you be hired for this job
10:38for quite some time.
10:40Those who were opposed to it would
10:43argue that you're a run-first and run-only guy.
10:48No, our best player was our running back, sir.
10:51That's what I said, as you can see in Baltimore.
10:56So we tried to structure the offense.
11:01We tried to build the offense around what
11:02we felt like was our best player and what was our strength.
11:05And when we did have pieces around Derek
11:10that we felt comfortable with, we threw it just
11:14as successfully as we ran it.
11:16And we were good in the red zone.
11:17I felt like we were creative.
11:20But you base whatever system and scheme
11:23that you have on the players that you have.
11:25So I do think there's a lot of versatility in not only myself,
11:29but hopefully the coaches that we hire.
11:31And it seems like a different situation here
11:33when you look at what Drake May can do.
11:35Sure.
11:36And again, we want to throw it as much as we can remain
11:39efficient and explosive.
11:44Want to gain as many players as we
11:46can that are tough to tackle, that you don't have
11:49to throw the ball 50 yards downfield
11:51to create an explosive play.
11:53Now, we'll have that ability.
11:54But you see around the league, some guys, you flip it out
11:57there, and they're a good catch-and-run guy.
11:59And they're hard to tackle.
12:00And you force defenses to tackle.
12:03You force secondary players to tackle.
12:05We want good guys that are good in space.
12:09And again, then how skilled are we up front?
12:12How physical we are up front?
12:14But there's still something to being
12:17able to run the football when you have to in short yardage
12:19situations around the goal line, to be
12:22able to control the pace of the game late in the game.
12:25When you play with a lead, these games, every year,
12:27they get closer and closer just how the league wants it.
12:31So everybody watches till the end of the game.
12:33And hopefully, everybody has a shot
12:35in how critical we can execute in the four-minute,
12:38two-minute situations.
12:40And so there is going to be an element
12:42that our physicality is going to have to play in.
12:44And running the football is going to be part of it.
12:46But it won't be the entire thing we do.
12:48Mike, one of the things that coming up in my career
12:53that I really respected from coaches,
12:56obviously, I have Parcells and Belichick,
12:59was transparency and putting the team above yourself.
13:05Based on a lot of your former players,
13:08they kind of reiterate those same words
13:11about the respect level for a coach
13:14that makes sure every player understands
13:16their role in its team first.
13:18How do you make sure that you continue
13:21that coming to a team that might have had some issues
13:24and making sure that message is received loud and clear?
13:29Yeah, well, the communication by me
13:31is critical that it is clear, it's clean,
13:35it's concise, and it's direct.
13:37Like you said, the transparency,
13:40I'm always going to be honest with the player.
13:42They may disagree.
13:43But I'm also going to listen to them.
13:45I'm going to listen with the intent to understand them
13:48and not listen with the intent to respond.
13:51But I'm also going to treat them the same way
13:52they treat the team.
13:53And if they treat the team really well,
13:55I'll be willing to listen to anything that they have to say,
13:57any suggestions.
13:59If they don't treat the team very well,
14:01if they're not on time or they're not in shape
14:04or they don't play hard or they don't study
14:07or they're disrespectful to somebody in the support staff,
14:10hopefully they're not here long.
14:12But if they are, I don't have much to say to them
14:15or I'm not really going to take their input.
14:17So like you mentioned, I think the biggest thing
14:20is that average players want to be left alone.
14:23They want to come in.
14:24They want to pick up their check.
14:25They want to eat for free and go home.
14:27Good players want to be coached.
14:29And great players want to be told the truth.
14:31And every great player that I've been
14:32able to coach in the past six years
14:34has always come and said, what do I need to do to be better?
14:37What do I need to do to be great?
14:39And you tell them.
14:40And then they seek the truth.
14:42And then their job is to then handle the truth.
14:45What's your timeline on hiring coordinators?
14:47No timelines.
14:48Same thing we talked about yesterday.
14:50We're not going to deal with timelines, with injuries,
14:53or we're not going to deal with the hiring of staff
14:56and when that's going to be complete.
14:57It's a long process.
14:59It's one that will go out a few weeks.
15:02It could go out longer than that.
15:05It's always delicate when you have
15:07teams that are continuing to play in the playoffs.
15:10Potentially the movement that could
15:11occur with coaches on other staffs
15:14and related to their contracts.
15:17So it's just not as cut and dry as, hey,
15:19these guys are going to walk in tomorrow
15:22and we're going to have a full staff.
15:23Rob Gronkowski said your first call
15:25should be to Josh McDaniels.
15:30Yeah, I mean, I'm going to look at every possible candidate
15:33that I feel like can help us.
15:35And we're going to start that process today, this afternoon,
15:41and visit with some great coaches.
15:44And then we'll see where things go.
15:47And that's on all three phases.
15:48Is he on the list?
15:49Yeah, it's a long list.
15:51Yeah, there's a long list.
15:52And I've had a relationship with Josh
15:54and I've had relationships with other offensive coaches
15:57and defensive coaches that we're going to interview
15:59and want to bring in here.
16:00How much pressure is there on the OC,
16:02though, when he brings up building a team around Drake,
16:05but making sure that he doesn't have a revolving
16:07door of offensive coordinators throughout his time here?
16:11Well, I mean, this is a production business.
16:17So I think pressure comes with everyone
16:20that's a part of this thing, whether you're a player
16:22or whether you're a coach.
16:24And I think you have to embrace the challenge of just
16:28getting it right.
16:29That's all we want to do is we want to get it right.
16:31And if our players can handle a lot,
16:32we're going to give them a lot.
16:34And if they just need to get out there and get lined up
16:36and be able to snap the ball so that we're
16:40going to avoid self-inflicted wounds
16:42and we don't want to have unforced errors.
16:46But if we can handle a lot, and we can move, and we can shift,
16:48and we can motion, and we can go play on the football
16:50and try to apply some pressure defensively,
16:53then those are all things that we'll
16:55be able to do that I've done in the past
16:56with multiple coordinators.
16:59I don't want to add any pressure, but you're on you.
17:02You probably won't be able to.
17:03But you're here to save us, like the entire region.
17:07Are you aware?
17:09Yeah, I think we're all aware of what our job is here to do.
17:14We have high expectations.
17:15And so do I.
17:16Yours aren't higher than mine, I can promise you that.
17:19I just, on that note, you are a guy, obviously, the Jets,
17:22you were rumored with every opening
17:24that you were going to potentially have
17:25an opportunity to coach in the NFL for several teams.
17:29If you could dial it to signify one thing why
17:32you chose to come back and coach this Patriots team,
17:36what would it be?
17:36Well, I don't think there is just one.
17:38But I just, like I said, it's the right time.
17:42It's the right place with the right people.
17:47Were you, this team, Wiggy brought up money.
17:49This team has over $130 million available salary cap wise.
17:53He's always talking about money.
17:55That's what happens when you don't make a lot when you play.
17:58I think that from the outside.
18:00401k.
18:02I've got to wait till I'm 65.
18:04I'm all LinkedIn if you need a tight end coach.
18:06You look 65.
18:08I feel it.
18:09If you're hiring Wiggy, you missed this probably.
18:11But Wiggy was the head coach of the Brockton football team
18:15for one year.
18:16Trying to give back to the kids.
18:17Just one season.
18:18The boxes.
18:19Yeah, the boxes.
18:21Just one year.
18:21But if you're hiring, I mean.
18:23Tight end coach.
18:23I'm all LinkedIn.
18:26But were you able to, in your discussions with.
18:29Only for option routes.
18:30You ain't coaching blocking.
18:31I mean, who really blocks nowadays?
18:33Let's be honest.
18:34What tight end block?
18:37Were you able to get assurances from Robert
18:40during your discussions when considering this job
18:43that you are going to be able to spend that money?
18:46Yeah, I'm comfortable that Ellie and I
18:48are going to be able to find ways
18:50to add productive players.
18:53Great people to this football team.
18:56And that's through the draft.
18:57That's your free agency.
18:59So I'm confident that we'll be able to have the resources
19:02that we need to go sign players within a limit.
19:06And we understand that free agency isn't the only answer.
19:10It's not 100%, as you all know.
19:13But it's about adding the right players.
19:16And that we feel like can help the team.
19:18And that we're comfortable with.
19:20And sometimes if you don't know them,
19:22you also don't know what you're going to get.
19:24Is this still a destination when it comes to free agents?
19:27Well, I mean, I think that we have to.
19:30We have to make it a destination.
19:32And again, I'll tell you a story about free agency
19:35when I got to Houston.
19:39They had natural grass in their dome.
19:42And they would wheel it out.
19:43And they'd cut it into sections.
19:44And I'm like, this is unique.
19:45Like, what's this?
19:46And they're like, well, we thought
19:48that the free agents would want to play on natural grass.
19:51I said, the only thing free agents care about
19:53is green, and it's not natural grass.
19:56So there's two forms of free agency.
20:00The one is trying to go out and maximize your earning potential
20:04and go for the top dollar.
20:06And we see that early on in free agency.
20:09We see that early on in the first couple of days,
20:11maybe the first week.
20:13Then after that, I try to tell players
20:14it comes down to opportunity.
20:16And if you want the best opportunity
20:20to go and be able to produce and contribute,
20:23and then that's going to lead to then the next form
20:26of free agency, where then you can
20:27take advantage of the system in a year or two
20:29or whatever you sign with us.
20:30So I was one of those players that come in from Pittsburgh
20:35and sign in here.
20:36It was about the opportunity.
20:38That turned into being able to have those types of contracts
20:42as my career went on and the production increased
20:45and all those other things.
20:46So we're going to identify players
20:48at all different levels, and it's a process
20:50putting it all together.
20:51Maybe if you provide free books on the sidelines,
20:55you might be able to get a certain wide receiver here.
20:57Yeah, we'll see.
21:00Was he a big reader back when you guys were together?
21:02I think AJ's just trying to find ways to at least,
21:05I'm proud of his development, his personal development,
21:08and working on himself and working on controlling his
21:12and getting back to center.
21:13And again, he's a passionate player, and I love him to death.
21:16And I have a very, very close relationship with him.
21:18That book's like number one on bestsellers right now.
21:21Skyrocketed, yeah.
21:23Good for him.
21:23Get some royalties.
21:25Wiggy wants the audio book.
21:26He can't read.