FOXBOROUGH – In front of a jam-packed Sports Illustrated Pavilion on Monday afternoon, Mike Vrabel took the first step in bringing accountability back to Foxborough.
Over the course of close to 40-minutes, Vrabel talked about building a coaching staff, working with Eliot Wolf (and apparently Ryan Cowden), his desire to come back here and most importantly, how he was going to get this franchise back to respectability.
There’s of course many factors that will go into that, but the biggest one is taking ownership of everything you do. That starts with relationship building.
“We have to get to know each other. We’ve got to peel some layers back so that you can hold each other accountable because, if you don’t trust the guy next to you, you don’t believe in him, you don’t know anything about his family or how he was raised, when you hold him accountable, then there’s pushback,” said Vrabel. “What we’re hoping to build is an environment where everyone respects everyone else, that we take time to talk and ask and listen when somebody asks a question, that you sit there and you take time to answer and listen to him. It’s important. And not just have a bunch of fly-bys in the hallway, like how you doing, and keep it moving. How did you come out of that game? A little banged up, how are you feeling?
“But that takes time. Those relationships take time, and I’m excited to start building them.”
Vrabel made it clear that he came back here to be part of a run similar to the one he experienced here when he was a player. Having said that, he also knows that he can’t just lean on the past, but there are plenty of reminders around Gillette of just how special things can be.
“The banners that hang in our stadium, they’re not going to help us win, but I think it’s a great reminder of what it takes to win and the type of people that you have to have in the organization, the selflessness, the work and the sacrifice that you have to make,” he said. “So to me, those are great reminders of what it takes. Just because those banners hang, that’s not going to give us an advantage on the field, but it’s going to give us a blueprint on how hard we need to work and the things that we need to do to be successful.
“We’re going to play with detail. We’re going to play with technique. We’re going to play with fundamentals. There’s going to be a brand of football that everybody associated with our team or our fans is going to be proud of.”
Vrabel was also asked how his ‘program’ will differ than the one Bill Belichick ran here for 25 years. The Patriot Hall of Famer was quick to point out that he isn’t Bill.
“Like I’m not Bill, and I’m not Bill Cowher, I’m not anyone other than me,” said Vrabel. “I’ve taken those experiences, and I’ve tried to form what I believe is critical to the success of a football team and an organization. To say what those are going to look like, hopefully just as successful. And our goals will be to win the AFC East, to host home playoff games, and to compete for championships…that’s going to be the expectations, and we’re going to work like crazy, we’re going to compete like crazy, we’re going to give the players a plan, and they’re going to form an identity on the field in the way that we’re going to play and play for each other that they’re going to be proud of. We just want to be good enough to take advantage of bad football. That’s where we’re going to start. That’s what I’ve tried to tell all the players is right now I don’t know if we’re good enough to take advantage of bad football. I’m unsure.
“Like, we’re undefeated right now, but if we can just work towards taking advantage of bad football and being good enough to, when somebody makes a mistake, capitalizing on it and not being the ones that make the mistakes, and focusing on the little things and the details and helping them do their job better, that’s a great place to start.”
So, as is the case with any new coach, the only way we’ll know if Vrabel was the right guy is if meaningful football returns to Foxborough next January. But, at least for one day, it sure feels like the Patriots really do have the right guy (finally) to clean up the mess made the last six years.
“We’re going to earn the right to be here every day. We’re going to remove entitlement from our football team,” he added. “We’re going to get everything that we’ve earned from the head coach to the position coaches, all the way down to the players. We’re going to earn the right to be here every single day. I always say that — I don’t want to get into too many messages that will be geared for the players, but I hold those conversations — those are special conversations between the coaches and the players, but we want to treat every player the same way they treat the team, and we want to treat every employee the same way they treat the team.
“If they care about the team and they come here with a great attitude and a willingness to work and help the team, I’ve asked Robert to do everything that we can for them, to support them and their families. That’s the type of environment that I want to build. I’m excited about it.”