It was only a year ago that New England Patriots fans were concerned that former head coach Jerod Mayo's grip on the Patriots locker room was slipping.
During the 2024 season, Patriots team reporter Evan Lazar said the Patriots locker room was "teetering on a mutiny" on Oct. 3, and Mayo described his team as "a soft football team across the board" following their Week 7, 32-16 loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Some players supported their first-year head coach, while others leaned into the reported dysfunction. Either way, fans and players alike were disappointed and, at times, outright drained and degraded from the constant lack of success.
But now, it is now one year later, and the success of Mike Vrabel's culture shift is indisputable.
Mike Vrabel kept his early promise of a culture shift in New England
During Vrabel's introductory press conference as head coach of the Patriots, Vrabel said, "You can find out what your culture looks like when your family, your business, and your team is at its low point... We're going to earn the right to be here every day. We're going to remove entitlement from our football team."
Vrabel went on to lay out his goals, including winning the AFC East, hosting home playoff games, and competing for championships. At the time, many would say those goals were too far-fetched. Now, not so much.
Harold Landry III and company praise coaching style with flying colors
A 10-2 record, which is more wins than the past two seasons combined, is one way to prove Vrabel's methods have been effective. But the unity between players and their strong public approval of the new culture is an even better way to fully understand this year's locker room.
Harold Landry III told ESPN's Mike Reiss, "Vrabes has always been the type of guy to hear leaders out, and to hear the guys that give their all to the team. I think the meetings have been great. We come together as a group and make a lot of decisions together."
Landry III continued to describe how special this 2025 Patriots team is to Reiss.
"I ain't going to lie, this is one of the dopest locker rooms I've been a part of. The guys we have here, it's a special group. And I'm not just talking about talent on the field, but also the people we have in this locker room. And honestly, the coaches included too. I don't think I could enjoy coming to work more than I do here."
Stefon Diggs was another leader on the team to praise his head coach. Just last month, Diggs expressed the surprising nature of Vrabel's leadership.
"I don't know how he does it. He got to me to buy in, I'll tell you that," Diggs told Reiss. "So, when you buy into the process and see the results, you're like, 'Damn, it does work.'"
Diggs also told NBC Sports Boston on Nov. 11 that Mike Vrabel's coaching style is like "that perfect parent" and has been "the overseer" of the team energy and culture ever since OTAs. That said, it is crystal clear why Landry III would call this locker room "dope."
Clearly, Vrabel had a plan on how to plant a strong foundation from the moment he stood at his first press conference as Patriots head coach. He knew how to create a culture, bringing in others who would buy into it and see it through to ensure forward motion from the low point of last season to the high point of this season.
One has to wonder if players around the league who chose not to join this Patriots team during the offseason are wishing they said "yes" in hindsight.