New England Patriots - NESN.com
The Patriots brought Mike Vrabel in to fix a bad situation, but that doesn’t mean the head coach is dwelling on recent history in New England.
The vibes at Gillette Stadium were much different when Vrabel returned to his old stomping grounds compared to when he left Foxboro, Mass. When Bill Belichick and company traded Vrabel in February 2009, the Patriots still boasted Tom Brady and were a perennial Super Bowl contender. The same can’t be said for these Patriots, who won a combined eight games the last two seasons and were a full-blown trainwreck under Jerod Mayo.
Vrabel couldn’t care less about the alarming 2024 struggles, though. The linebacker-turned-coach made as much abundantly clear on the premiere of “Forged in Foxborough,” where an optimistic Vrabel kept his eye on the here and now.
“Why the (expletive) would I care about what happened last year?” Vrabel said, as transcribed by NFL.com. “I’m worried about what’s going to go right today and tomorrow and the next day. We’re not worried about what went wrong. We’re focused on what’s going to go right.”
There are plenty of reasons for Vrabel to be hopeful about his first season as Patriots head coach. Drake Maye is coming off a Pro Bowl rookie season and will work closely with Josh McDaniels, the best offensive coordinator in franchise history. New England also boasts an improved roster that was revamped through free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft.
Will the Patriots legitimately be in play for the Lombardi Trophy this season? Probably not. But it’s not far-fetched to think a lot will “go right” for New England in 2025.
