Well before Robert Kraft decided to fire Bill Belichick as the Patriots' head coach after two decades, there had been a lot of talk about his preference for Mike Vrabel as his successor. The problem was that he was still coaching for the Titans, which inevitably led to Jerod Mayo taking over for the 2024 season, only to eventually be replaced by Vrabel the following year.
Because of his experience as a head coach and player, Vrabel was expected to recharge a rebuilding Patriots team and drastically change the vibes of what appeared to be a broken locker room. That has already been felt this season, even stemming back to OTAs, and the players continue to rave about just how much they appreciate their new head coach.
And apparently, current players are not the only ones hyped about the kind of coach that Vrabel is, as now even retired players are sharing their itch to get back on the field if that means playing for the Super Bowl-winning linebacker in New England.
That's exactly how retired legendary receiver Julian Edelman feels after watching the 2025 season unfold so far.
Julian Edelman is ready to get back into his Patriots uniform to play for Mike Vrabel
While speaking about the Patriots' season on his podcast with Rob Gronkowski, "Dudes On Dudes," recently, Edelman shared his desire to play for Vrabel and his wish to still suit up and experience it with the rest of the 2025 squad.
If that isn't an indication of just how beloved Vrabel is from a player's perspective, it's difficult to say what is.
Julian Edelman on #Patriots HC Mike Vrabel:
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) October 22, 2025
“I wanna play for Coach Vrabes. He seems like such a great dude to play for… He’s like a player coach, but you can tell he keeps jokers accountable… It feels kinda Belichickish, but with a player type coach.”
(🎥 @DudesOnDudesPod) pic.twitter.com/Ryiv8kgFaL
Now we know that Edelman is only speaking about whether this was a legitimate possibility, and he's not actually considering coming out of retirement any time soon.
However, the fact that he has even considered playing for a coach other than Bill Belichick says a lot, because he has said throughout his career —and once he hung up the cleats —that he only wanted to play for the Patriots, and during that time, that meant only for Belichick.
So, hearing his excitement about the idea of being coached by Vrabel is an indictment of just how well received he is in the locker room and among those around the Patriots. That's exactly the kind of energy the roster needed after a rough few years in Foxboro, and the impact Vrabel has had is clear beyond what they're accomplishing on the field.