The Testimonials From People Who Have Worked With Mike Vrabel are Grade-A Patriots Porn
Billie Weiss. Getty Images.There's one thing that's always been true about popularity contests, and it is that they offer mathematical proof of the hypothesis that says you can't please everybody.
FDR was the most popular US President in history in 1936, and he topped out at "just" 61% of the vote. In '72, Nixon won the biggest electoral landslide of all time, and he still didn't win Massachusetts. Hell, James Madison was running basically unopposed in 1820, and still only got 78% of the vote. There's going to be contrarians to popular opinion, no matter the circumstances.
But I defy you to find anyone with a discouraging word to say about the Patriots making Mike Vrabel their head coach. Sure, you can find a few on X. There's always going to be someone standing by the river with a dunking stool, insisting we put the new guy in the water. And if he saves himself, he must be burned. But if he drowns, he died virtuous death and would've been perfect for the job. You'll find most of them calling Boston sports talk all day between 6am and 10pm.
But among the knowledgeable, experienced, intelligent people who have played with, played for, coached or coached with Vrabel, there has been nothing but total unanimity.
I already posted Bill Belichick's reaction to his hiring. And while I expected it to be nothing less than 100% positive, even I wasn't ready for him to profess his love for the man he made into a star:
"He prepares his teams well. They're very good at situational football. They're tough, they're competitive, they're smart, just like he was as a player. The teams he's coached and the positions he's coached follow very much in his playing style and his preparation style. So I love Mike. I love everything that he stands for as a football coach. I have a lot of respect for him and I know he'll do a great job."
And while Belichick's opinion carries the most weight, by no means does the praise stop with him. Here's a random sample of comments from the men who know Vrabel best
Bill O'Brien, who gave Vrabel his first NFL coaching job, in Houston:
"I'm excited for Mike. I'm excited for the Patriots. It's going to be awesome. No quesh. No quesh."
And as a bonus, here's O'Brien on how Vrabel would antagonize Tom Brady playing safety on the Patriots scout team:
"Vrabel was awesome."
Then there was Josh McDaniels on Bussin' With the Boys:
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Plus Vrabel's co-Hall at Patriots Place inductee Dante Scarnecchia, arguably the greatest position coach in NFL history
Then there's some Patriots' Three Ring Club members and fellow franchise Hall of Famers. First, Troy Brown, who was at the introductory press conference Monday:
Next, Tedy Bruschi, even before the hiring was official:
"The only way to fix [the Patriots] is to hire Mike Vrabel. I'm telling you right now. A coach that can come in there and doesn't just lead men, but knows how to lead football players. Knows how to reach football players and can deal with that ownership. Fix the organization, Robert and Jonathan Kraft, and hire Mike Vrabel.”
Finally, Pro Football HoFer Richard Seymour at Vrabel's induction:
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Next we can add Two Ring clubber Rodney Harrison, echoing McDaniels' thoughts on Vrabel's positive assholery:
Then there's Logan Ryan, a Two Ring guy from the back end of the Dynasty who appeared in 10 postseason games in New England and five under Vrabel in Tennessee. And who famously caught Brady's last touchdown pass as a Patriot, a Pick-6 that effectively ended the 2019 Wild Card game at Gillette:
"Playing for Mike Vrabel, we won a lot in Tennessee. He won a Coach of the Year there. He took a roster that wasn't the most talented that year and had a lot of injuries and still found a way to get the No. 1 seed in the AFC. We rode Derrick Henry all the way to the AFC championship game. The sign of a great head coach or a good head coach is getting the most out of his players. … We had some of our best years playing for Mike Vrabel."
Admittedly, no Pats fan needs the opinion of these men to convince them the Krafts made the right hire. Even if (checks the math; carries the 1 …) like 25 Super Bowls, so they understand what it takes to be successful in tackle football. But certainly doesn't hurt to hear them speak with one voice and in total unanimity when they say we're getting exactly the head coach we need right now.
And I'm happy to report that Vrabel's most important player agrees with them:
