Pats Pulpit
Maye shared his first thoughts on the hirings of Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels.
Upon being named the New England Patriots next head coach, Mike Vrabel quickly got to work reaching out to his players. Among them: starting quarterback Drake Maye.
“He reached out to me, we got on the phone. He’s been awesome,” Maye told SiriusXM NFL Radio at the NFL Pro Bowl Games in Orlando. “Obviously a guy who has done it, played in the league, won a Super Bowl — you have a respect of what he’s done and seen what he’s done.
“I think the biggest thing is he’s been a head coach and he knows what it’s like. So, excited to get up to New England and get things going.”
As Vrabel put his coaching staff together, his offensive coordinator hire was the biggest as the one who would oversee Maye’s continued development. Maximizing the 22-year old’s dual threat skill set was a key topic of discussion during the interview process, which ultimately led to Vrabel landing on Josh McDaniels.
While McDaniels and Maye have not yet been able to hit the field, the quarterback is excited about the opportunity to work with the Super Bowl winning coordinator.
“Coach McDaniels, obviously what he’s done [with the Patriots] and the success he’s had, I’m fortunate to be able to have a guy come in who has done it at a high level and learn from him coaching one of the best ever — the best ever in my opinion, Tom,” said Maye.
McDaniels’ offense with Tom Brady would be a stark contrast from what Maye operated in last year under Alex Van Pelt. But, Vrabel has noted how McDaniels will evolve his offense and make things work with a quarterback that’s different from ones he has worked with in the past.
Part of that evolution could be introducing some of the familiar West Coast schemes Maye ran last year into the playbook, as Vrabel added numerous coaches with West Coast backgrounds — including quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant, who previously worked under Van Pelt in Cleveland — to the staff.
There will likely be core philosophies from McDaniels previous Patriots’ offenses that remain, however, which Maye is ready to dive into learning.
“I have a great chance to go back — all those years of film he has in the little database, it’s all their play-calls, all Coach McDaniels’ stuff and what he did with Tom,” he said. “So it’s fortunate for me to go back and study it up and get ready for this next season.”
