New England Patriots - NESN.com
When he’s not coaching football, Mike Vrabel is policing parking lots.
If New England Patriots players think a poorly executed play bothers Vrabel, wait until they hear his rant about poor parking-lot etiquette. Vrabel had a lot to say when The Athletic’s Dianna Russini asked him in a “Scoop City” interview if anything drives him crazy off the gridiron.
“People when they leave their carts in the middle of the parking lot,” Vrabel said, “and they don’t take them back to the cart return.”
Plenty of shoppers are (hopefully) nodding in agreement, but Vrabel saved his true vitriol for another issue. The Patriots head coach condemned people who park in a handicap space when they’re not licensed to do so.
However, Vrabel won’t just scoff and go get his coffee. The former linebacker told Russini that he’ll confront strangers about their parking choices.
“I look in the dash. I look, and then I wait, and I approach them,” Vrabel said. “And I say things like, ‘Why did you park here?’ And one person would be like, ‘I’m with DoorDash.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t care. That’s unacceptable.’
“And then there’s the mom that’s going to yoga, and she’s rushing because she’s late. And I’m like, this is ridiculous.”
Vrabel joked about wanting to make a citizen’s arrest to punish these “mind-boggling” offenses. Apparently, he kept busy during his year away from coaching in 2024.
“I accost them,” Vrabel declared. “When I didn’t have a job, I had nothing else to do. I can sit here for 15 minutes, waiting for this person to come out and actually see if they’re handicapped.”
Patriots players and staffers better be careful about how they park at the team facility and Gillette Stadium this season.
