The New England Patriots overcame some of the toughest defenses in the league to beat the Denver Broncos 10-7 in the AFC Championship, completing a Mike Vrabel-led turnaround that borders on the unprecedented due to how rapid and effective it was.
Just a few months removed from a span of winning eight games in two years and picking in the top-four of the NFL Draft in consecutive seasons, Vrabel helped the Patriots win 14 games and lock in on defense during the postseason. Vrabel's run to the Super Bowl has now helped him make history due to his accomplishments both on the field and sideline as a Patriot.
With this victory, Vrabel became the first person in NFL history to play in a Super Bowl with a team and later coach that same team back to the Super Bowl. Thanks to some incompetence from other teams in the league, the Patriots managed to have their perfect coaching candidate fall into their laps.
No matter what the result of the Super Bowl ends up as, Vrabel has taken his legacy as a Patriot from honored star to immutable legend, as he was the one who ensured this franchise could have success without Bill Belichick and Tom Brady accounting for just about everything.
Mike Vrabel makes history with Patriots SB run
While Vrabel did inherit a quarterback in Maye that might be idiot-proof as far as talent goes, going from 4-13 to a Super Bowl is almost unheard of. Vrabel's Tennessee Titans teams got close, but he needed a superstar-level quarterback to get over the hump, and he found it in Maye.
Vrabel's identification of talent, which helped them crush free agency and put together a quality 2025 NFL Draft, has given New England enough depth and versatility in how they can grind out wins to overcome problems like the elements or a subpar day from Maye.
Vrabel's success is likely to be replicated in future seasons. On top of having Maye, it seems unlikely that any team will pry Josh McDaniels away from his role as offensive coordinator. Interim defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr may be a hot-ticket item, but New England may get a few more good years out of him.
What Vrabel has done in New England is perhaps the greatest one-year turnaround in NFL history, and it's only reinforcing the notion that he is one of the greatest ambassadors for Patriots football this organization has ever seen.