The New England Patriots are back in the Super Bowl. In an amazing turn of events from two disastrous 4-13 seasons under two different former coaches, Robert Kraft finally hired Mike Vrabel. In one magical offseason, he engineered a transformation for the ages, turning an NFL frog into a prince by reaching the Super Bowl.
Vrabel and his young quarterback, Drake Maye, beat all the odds, and owner Robert Kraft can again stake a claim to being the best owner in the NFL.
Kraft engineered a comeback of his own after a series of disastrous decisions that brought his once-feared and proud franchise to its knees. The disaster commenced when Kraft abdicated his ownership authority and allowed a simmering feud between Bill Belichick and the franchise, Tom Brady, to lead to Brady's departure.
That final decision rested with Kraft, and he chose poorly.
He botched the Bill Belichick divorce to a fare-thee-well and followed that up by appointing Jerod Mayo, who was totally unprepared to be an NFL head Coach. Yet it's Kraft's decisiveness after the disastrous 2024 season in letting Mayo go that led to his renaissance. H hired Vrabel to run the Patriots' football operation, and in one year, everything in Foxborough has been renewed.
Robert Kraft made 3 decisions that righted his listing Patriots' ship
Robert Kraft first made the difficult personal decision to release Jerod Mayo from his duties. He had honorably kept his word by hiring Mayo, but he again emerged as a sound owner by admitting his mistake and moving on, as difficult as that must have been.
Then, in the 2024 draft, Kraft ensured the Patriots selected the third overall pick and did not trade it. They drafted the last of the top three available quarterbacks (fortunately, it was Drake Maye), and Kraft therein set the wheels in motion to reclaim the Patriots' spot at the top of the NFL.
Then, in the coup de grace, he hired Mike Vrabel, exactly the right man for the right job at the right time. Vrabel proceeded to engineer one of the most brilliant offseasons not only in Patriots' history but also in NFL history.
He aced every aspect of the offseason.
Yet, Kraft, rising like a phoenix from the ashes of several years of disastrous decision-making, should also take a bow. He stands among the best NFL owners of all time. His team won its 11th Conference Championship. No NFL team has won more.
In Robert Kraft’s 32 seasons owning the Patriots, the team has won a league-leading 11 conference championships, and he has done so with three different coach/QB combinations.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 25, 2026
There are still four NFL teams that never have made it to a Super Bowl. pic.twitter.com/85ApW15R2m
As Kraft nears his Chairman Emeritus years, he has regained the respect not only of his coaches, players, and Patriot Nation, but perhaps, grudgingly, even of his fellow NFL owners. He has turned disaster into triumph, and no matter the outcome of Super Bowl LX, his legacy is restored.
Robert Kraft, Mike Vrabel, and Drake Maye are a trio that can dominate the NFL
The most optimistic aspect of all of this is that the trio of Robert Kraft, Mike Vrabel, and Drake Maye is just beginning their emergence into NFL royalty once again. Kraft set the whole re-emergence in motion, and Vrabel, while possessing great experience, is only 50-years-old with years of coaching and personnel management ahead of him.
Maye, the wonderkid at just 23 years old, hasn't even scratched the surface of his ultimate ability, having started a mere 32 games in his fledgling career. He nearly met very ambitious statistical predictions before the season, and will improve further as the team around him improves.
That is where Vrabel's personnel evaluation skills come into play again. The 2025 Patriots, whether they win the Super Bowl or not, are still a work in progress. Their offensive line surrendered 47 sacks during the 2025 season and 10 more in the first two playoff games. The need to better those numbers by half is a Vrabel imperative.
He also needs to continue to augment his receiving corps and add a young tight end on offense. On defense, his greatest requirement is to add edge sackmen. Hits and pressures are fine, but sacks change games, and the team needs to add better players to create sacks.
The new Patriots are at the end of their first season back in contention for the NFL title. 2025 is merely the end of the beginning for Kraft, Vrabel, Maye, and company. But it's hats off to Robert Kraft, who made three bold decisions to set this new dynamic in place.
There's no doubt. He's one of the best owners in NFL history and deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.