FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The right side of Mike Vrabel’s face paid the price.
In early August, he was standing behind the New England Patriots‘ offense during a joint practice with the Washington Commanders when he saw rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson step up with a block and get tangled up with a defender on the ground. As they wrestled with each other, more players joined in. And then, so did Vrabel — with other players piling on top of him.
The former 14-year NFL linebacker who became a head coach emerged with a bloody cut on his cheek, holding a large bag of ice on it as practice continued.
If there was a moment that best captures Vrabel’s intense leadership style and how players have responded to it since he was hired as the 16th head coach in Patriots history in January, this was it.
“That’s what we’re trying to build, and it starts with the head coach,” quarterback Drake Maye said. “The intensity, bringing it every day, taking no crap when we’re out there on the field.”
“He’s right there with us. I think that player comes out in him,” added tight end Hunter Henry. “You have to love a coach that has competitive juices like us.”
Vrabel’s presence has lit a firecracker inside the Patriots organization with his dive-headfirst-in-the-pile approach, an emphasis on players knowing each other, and a clearly defined vision for the type of team he wants to field — and the “violent” style it will play. His return to the franchise for which he played from 2001 to 2008, as an integral part of three Super Bowl championship teams, sparks hope that New England will soon be competing for Super Bowl championships again after back-to-back four-win seasons.
Owner Robert Kraft is counting on Vrabel being the answer after referring to the past two seasons — with Bill Belichick, then Jerod Mayo — as the worst in his 31-year tenure.
Vrabel’s debut comes Sept. 7 at home against the Las Vegas Raiders (1 p.m. ET, CBS), almost one month to the day his bloodied cheek was heard across the NFL.
“I texted him because I wanted the visual evidence of how bad the injury was,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said with a smile. “He sent me a picture back immediately. It was an up close and personal picture of Vrabe’s face. I hadn’t seen him like that in a long time.”
Fitting, of course. Vrabel was never shy of getting in another player’s face in the heat of competition.
As a coach, he has mixed that approach with a softer touch.
VRABEL PINPOINTED TEAM bonding as one of his three objectives for a successful training camp and preseason. The others are earning a role and preparing to win.
So he turned to the “4 H’s,” with players relaying poignant stories in meetings about their hometown, heartbreak, hero and hope.
“Just getting to know your brothers outside of the locker room, what they’re going through in life,” explained offensive tackle Morgan Moses, who enters his 12th NFL season and first in New England. “Adversity in life comes from everywhere. If you know your brother’s story, and you’re prepared to share those things with your brothers, you can battle for each other. Those are the closest teams.”
Vrabel’s “4 H’s” have attempted to personalize what is also a transactional business.
“We need [players] to put the team first and we’re going to ask everybody to make tough decisions,” Vrabel said of his focus on connectivity. “Hopefully, the better you know somebody and understand who they’re playing for, and trying to support, the things going on outside of [football], there’s a lot of similarities, and I think the better it is to work with them.”
Henderson, the 2025 second-round pick from Ohio State who was the team’s most electric performer of the preseason, shared that those connections have helped in his transition to the NFL.
“This team, I feel like it’s so close. Coach Vrabel and the Patriots organization have done a great job bringing us together, helping learn each other’s stories and things like that,” Henderson said. “Something that I go by when I play this game is I play for God and for the love of my brothers. Just to hear these guys’ stories, it just makes you want to go the extra mile.”
Moses, who at 34 is the oldest player on the roster, called the rookie class led by first-round pick Will Campbell and Henderson one of the best he has been around in maturity and humility.
He said all players’ willingness to share some of their most personal stories has built momentum in the formation of a team in Vrabel’s image.
“When you hear other people’s takes on things, it opens opportunity for you to speak and a lot of these messages you hear, they resonate with you. We’re not cliqued up in this locker room. We’re a family. That’s part of the culture that Mike Vrabel has brought and been a part of.”
His laugh gets us every time 😂@NFL | #NEPats pic.twitter.com/KhP9AjSveK
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) August 16, 2025
VRABEL WAS LAUGHING in pain as the Patriots prepared to face the Vikings on Aug. 16 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota.
As he often does at practice or as part of draft workouts with Campbell when he went 1-on-1 with the eventual first-round pick and was knocked on his backside, Vrabel put a blocking pad over his chest and inserted himself into the action. This time it was with fifth-year defensive tackle Christian Barmore, the 6-foot-5, 315-pound defensive tackle.
Vrabel braced himself for impact, his right foot stepped forward, the number “00” the target across his chest for Barmore to thrust his hands into at shoulder level.
“That’s it!” Vrabel yelled out with a smile as Barmore crunched him.
When Barmore delivered a second strike, Vrabel could only laugh.
Players say the 50-year-old Vrabel is a “hands-on” coach. His pregame drill with Barmore even caught the attention of his assistants.
“Rocking him. Hitting him. He just loves the game of football,” outside linebackers coach Mike Smith said of Vrabel taking those strikes from the 26-year-old Barmore.
Smith shared his viewpoint that Vrabel is similar to Chiefs coach Andy Reid, for whom he worked from 2016 to 2018.
“Andy might not get out there and put that stuff on and might not yell as much, but they are both very clear in their plan. There is no gray area,” Smith said. “Coach Reid used to lead the meeting and say, ‘Does everyone know where we’re at and where we’re going?’ That’s the thing with Vrabel … you know exactly how he feels. I just respect that part. There’s no hidden agenda. What you see is what you get.”
Vrabel has identified four pillars of what he wants the Patriots’ identity to be and has erected signs inside the team meeting room as a reminder:
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Effort and finish
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Ball security and ball disruption
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Details, technique and fundamentals
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Making great decisions
“He sets the tone with the play style that he wants, and he hammers it every day,” said inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr, who also worked for Vrabel in Tennessee and pinpointed “violence” and playing on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage as core tenets of Vrabel’s defensive philosophy.
Vrabel had preached a similar approach during his time as Tennessee Titans head coach (2018-23), when he was fired by owner Amy Adams Strunk after a 6-11 season and two years after winning the AP Coach of the Year. He spent 2024 as a consultant on Kevin Stefanski’s Cleveland Browns staff and said he learned how much he missed leading a team.
In his first full day as Patriots coach, Vrabel said simply at his introductory news conference in January: “We just want to be good enough to take advantage of bad football.”
Kraft remembers experiencing such directness from Vrabel as a player.
“He was a little bit tough; he represented the [players’] union,” Kraft said. “This is the only stadium that is fully private, and we had to invest in the land around it to hopefully get economic activity to justify our doing this. He wanted the revenue to go into the union for the [salary] cap.
“I remember duking it out with him. Now that we have totally aligned interests, [I hope] he can bring that [same] spirit and energy.”
TWO OF VRABEL’S top goals have been achieved. A team has been formed. Roles have been earned with an identity coming into focus.
Next comes execution and on-field results.
Summing up his thoughts on the direction of his franchise and what it might be able to accomplish under Vrabel in 2025, Kraft struck an optimistic note.
“He’s had the experience coaching and, I think, did a very good job in Tennessee. We’ve been able to bring in a group of young free agents, and I like our draft, and some real veterans that I think can hopefully make it happen,” he said. “I feel good about the foundation of what we have. Now we have to go execute and make it happen.”
At the same time, Kraft acknowledged that some in his family have told him to temper those expectations based on the time it often takes to rebuild from a four-win season.
ESPN Analytics projects a bump for the Patriots to 8.1 wins, which is tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars for 20th in the NFL. Furthermore, New England has the third-easiest strength of schedule, according to ESPN Analytics — behind the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints.
The Patriots’ win total at ESPN BET Sportsbook is 8.5. The plus-4.5 projected increase in wins is tied with the 49ers for the largest expected increase in the NFL.
Vrabel has set the Patriots’ big-picture expectations high, saying the goal is to win the AFC East, host home playoff games and play for championships. He has stressed to players the importance of playing to their identity and being prepared to win close games.
Veteran center Garrett Bradbury believes it’s too early to tell what the Patriots might become.
“This is [Year] 7 for me and there’s been years where I didn’t think we were going to be very good and we win a bunch of games, and vice versa,” he said. “Coach talks about it all the time — there’s so many one-score games in the NFL. Some say it’s whether the ball bounces your way or not. Some say it’s just taking advantage of opportunities.
“That’s why Coach Vrabel is on us about technique and details. Sure, there might be 70 offensive snaps, but 1-2 might change the game. We have to be as locked in as we can and make sure we win those close games.”
Players have taken Vrabel’s cue.
“Coach is trying to build a team that’s bringing it every play,” Maye said. “No plays off. No days off.”
