It was apparent early in Jerod Mayo's tenure as the Patriots head coach that it wouldn't be easy for him to attract personnel to join his staff. Besides being inexperienced and a first-time head coach, he didn't have many remaining in the organization to help guide him or convince incoming coaches that New England was where they wanted to be, leading to multiple interviews for varying positions.
Perhaps the most noteworthy of all was the search for an offensive coordinator. It took twelve interviews until Mayo finally found someone who agreed to the role, who ended up being Alex Van Pelt, which could explain some of the issues the offense dealt with during the 2024 season.
That hasn't been the case thus far since Mike Vrabel was named the head coach earlier this month. He has already put together an impressive group with far more experience than the collective of coaches under Mayo, addressing one of the biggest issues of his lone season on the sidelines.
Besides coming to that assumption, new defensive coordinator Terrell Williams said as much in his first interviews since moving to New England. It's a great sign for what's to come under Vrabel and could also hint about free agents.
Read More: Patriots coaching staff tracker for 2025 NFL season under Mike Vrabel
The addition of Mike Vrabel is already making coaches want to join the Patriots staff
During his introductory interview posted by the Patriots social media team, Williams emphasized that Vrabel was the main reason he wanted to be part of the team's staff, as they had worked together on the Titans.
His belief in the head coach led him to make that decision, which is great news for a team in need of great coaching and continuity across the board.
“A big reason for coming here was Mike Vrabel, you know? Just believing in him and who he is. I know what he is as a coach. I know who he is as a family man. So, that’s important to me. Just having a chance to get back with Mike was a big, big draw for me.”
Considering how difficult it was to get quality coaches in the door before the 2024 season, this is a significant upgrade for the Patriots and a testament to Vrabel. Not only is he a respected figure for his NFL career, but he's also admired by his former staff/co-workers and players and is now the reason for some wanting to be part of the Patriots.
That will go a long way for their offseason since they need to make many roster improvements and upgrades while putting together a stout coaching staff to help get the team back on the right page.
It will be interesting to see if this will also translate to free agency and if Vrabel's addition to the Patriots will draw top talent to the team. They already have the cap space to pay players a lot of money, so if Vrabel is also a reason to move to Foxboro, then that's the cherry on top of what could be a memorable offseason.