When it comes to Jerod Mayo's short stint as Patriots head coach, there were clearly more storm clouds than sunshine cast over Foxboro and New England. But perhaps the stormiest moment occurred after a 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London in October when Mayo said that the Patriots were a "soft football team."
The ominous storm clouds hovered over the Patriots for the rest of the season, and Mayo is now looking for another job. But on Monday, a ray of sunshine appeared in the form of the introductory press conference of new head coach and former Pats' linebacker Mike Vrabel.
The biggest takeaway from Vrabel's first meeting with the New England media: There's no way anybody will label the Patriots as "soft."
The controversial statement made by Jerod Mayo during the 2024 season drew a lot of attention from all of New England, even some of the Patriots players responding to the comments. Although many didn't necessarily disagree, it surely didn't help with the rumored tension behind the scenes, which only seemed to grow as the season went on. That seems like it won't be an issue with the new head coach moving forward.
Mike Vrabel will make the Patriots team one that fans remember admiring
Vrabel is going to hold guys accountable. He won't start guys with fumbling problems (I'm looking at you, Rhamondre Stevenson). He won't let guys complain about the fans booing when the team isn't performing up to standard.
He tells it like it is. Even though he has ties to his former coach, Bill Belichick, their personalities couldn't be any different. Former teammate Tedy Bruschi even compared Vrabel to another former Pats coach named Bill: Bill Parcells. Vrabel expects you to have quality leadership and to lead by example.
He's the coach the Patriots need at this time. Lions' offensive coordinator Ben Johnson would've been a great hire as well, but the Krafts didn't want to roll the dice with another first-year head coach.
It doesn't hurt that the Patriots have ample resources—a franchise quarterback in Drake Maye, the most salary cap space in the league, and a high first-round draft pick—to expedite the franchise's turnaround.
Vrabel has a lot of work to do. The Patriots need a front-line wide receiver, some offensive line work, and an edge pass rusher. Fortunately, Vrabel has a talented quarterback in Maye, a luxury never afforded to him while he was in Tennessee.
He will do things his way. He's not going to let anyone be soft. He's going to hold guys accountable. Get ready for a lot of tough love in Foxboro again.