Moments from past and present with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Mike Vrabel was bloodied. Again.

The New England Patriots coach was amped up Sunday, pumping his right arm in excitement on the sideline, as defensive tackle Milton Williams sacked quarterback Justin Herbert to secure the team’s 16-3 wild-card playoff victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Vrabel then walked with a purpose, seeking out Williams to congratulate him.

With Gillette Stadium shaking like it did in the Super Bowl championship days when Vrabel played for the franchise, the 6-foot-4 thrust his hands into the 6-3 Williams’ chest in excitement.

Then he received something in return he wasn’t expecting: a blow from Williams’ helmet that split his lip.

“That’s just pure emotion. I think I head-butted everyone, I just forgot Vrabes didn’t have a helmet on,” Williams said with a smile. “But he’ll be all right.”

OUR COACH. pic.twitter.com/IUObIvQRL6

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 12, 2026

He was. Not long after a visit from head athletic trainer Jim Whalen on the sideline, when Vrabel was handed a towel to clean up his lip, Vrabel referenced it as a badge of honor to the team.

“We said all along, you gotta be willing to spill some blood! I ain’t afraid to spill a little blood either!” a still-fired-up Vrabel told players and coaches in the locker room.

Patriots players had already learned this lesson in early August.

It was the early days of training camp when the Washington Commanders were in town for practice ahead of the first preseason game. Things got chippy between players and Vrabel wound up at the bottom of a scrum. He emerged with a cut on his right cheek. Practice continued with him holding a bag of ice up to his face.

“He’s right there with us, man. I think that player comes out in him a little bit too,” veteran tight end Hunter Henry said that day.

Vrabel still looks like he might have a few snaps in him, but at 50, swapping his trademark coaching vest for football pads is something he reserves only for practice as players sometimes strike him with force. The approach has helped galvanize the 15-3 Patriots, who host the Houston Texans in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC).

There are some notable connections to the matchup. Vrabel’s first NFL job after he retired was as the linebackers coach for the Texans in 2014. He was with the franchise through the 2017 season, before spending 2018-2023 as the Tennessee Titans head coach. After being fired, Vrabel was passed over for six other NFL head coaching jobs — including in New England — which led him to spend 2024 as a consultant with the Cleveland Browns. He said one thing he learned in 2024 was that he missed being a head coach “with everything that I had in my soul.”

A year into his tenure with the Patriots, the team is two wins away from competing in the Super Bowl.

We talked with current and former teammates, colleagues and players to help illustrate what it is like to play for a Vrabel-coached team, what it was like to play with Vrabel during his 14-year career, and what it is like to coach alongside him.

Jump to:
Teammates | Colleagues | Players

Teammates

Jarvis Green, former Patriots DL (2002-09):

“Vrabel used to bust [chops] all the time. I remember Bill [Belichick] used to do it back. And then Vrabel would have to one-up Bill. I remember the time Bill got out the rocking chairs in the meeting room because Vrabel was one of the older players, but Vrabel would talk s— in the meetings. He would be like, ‘Bill, you come get dressed on the field in uniform and make a play!’ Bill would chuckle, have a big grin, because Vrabel was right. That was part of our success. Vrabel was a jokester in the locker room. He was always comical.”

…

“I remember Vrabel wearing a Giants helmet at practice. That was a knock on Coach Pep [Pepper Johnson], because he was always talking about the Giants and LT [Lawrence Taylor], and how great they were. I don’t know where Vrabel got the helmet, but he said, ‘I’m going to impersonate LT, or one of the great linebackers, because we can’t do s— over here in New England!'”

…

“Me, Vrabel, [Rosevelt] Colvin, we could communicate without saying words on the field. We studied so much together in the film room. I see why he is a head coach, because he knew everything on the field. I remember when he played the safety position; I was like, ‘Come on, man!’ He wasn’t a 4.5 guy [in the 40-yard dash] but he made it work because he knew the angles to take.”

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Willie McGinest, former Patriots LB (1994-2005):

“We would all give him a bunch of s— about wanting to play tight end in the game, so he could catch touchdowns. We all started calling him a diva.”

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Rosevelt Colvin, former Patriots LB (2003-07):

“Everyone in our LB room was there for a reason and had a specific purpose. Looking at Mike, player-wise, he was a special-teams guy, goal-line TE, OLB and could play ILB. Very versatile and knew everything, but I’d say he was the one guy who could match wits and brainpower with Bill — all while cracking a joke that would make Bill pissed, but not in a bad way. When [assistant coach] Rob Ryan left the room after my first year, we had Bill and Dean Pees, older football minds, but great at what they do. There was also Matty P [Matt Patricia], who could have been a rocket scientist, and Vrabes still could match them all. It shows why he’s had success as a head coach. There was a snippet of him and [Stefon] Diggs going back and forth on the sideline last week about his blocking ability. That’s him all day.”

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Colleagues

Bill O’Brien, Boston College head coach and former Texans head coach:

“When he was working for me in Houston (2014-17), that was when he broke out the chest pad that everybody wears now. I hadn’t seen that before. We had just drafted [defensive end] Jadeveon Clowney [at No. 1 overall in 2014] and [Vrabel] came out to practice with the chest pad on — it’s a pad you put over your head, and he wore it the entire practice. In any break in the action, you’d look over and he would have Clowney, Whitney Mercilus, some veteran guys, and they would be setting the edge on his chest pad — full speed. You’d hear him: ‘Set the edge! Lock out! Bend your knees!’ It was to the point where he was beat up by the end of practice. I remember calling him in and saying, ‘Mike, I don’t know if you can do this every single day. You’re going to be in the training room more than the players.’

“He was an excellent position coach. He’s a big guy, he played, he was in great condition, and in addition to his intelligence, he could be physical with them and show them exactly what he wanted.”

…

“We had a kicker that was with us in Houston and I would say he was a nervous kicker, which is not what you’re looking for in a kicker. At the end of practice, I usually did field goals and tried to put some pressure situations in there. And Mike, who is very vocal, would be the one taunting the kicker saying, ‘You’re going to miss it!’ We later moved on from the kicker, who got picked up by Cincinnati.

“We’re playing Cincinnati on Christmas Eve [2016] and if we win, we win the AFC South. We drive the ball down late in the game and score to take the lead by 2. Andy Dalton is the quarterback for the Bengals, they’re driving the ball, and they get into field-goal range with basically no time left. They’re getting ready to kick a [43-yard] field goal. I ice the kicker and during the timeout, Mike — who is the linebacker coach — basically walks out on the field and says, ‘Hey, you’re going to choke this kick just like you did in practice every day!’ And the guy hooked it. We won the AFC South.”

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Todd Downing, Patriots wide receivers coach:

“It’s no secret that I went through a tough chapter when I was with Coach Vrabel [in Tennessee]. He walked through that chapter with me. His loyalty and the way he committed to me and the team is something I’ll never forget. He cares more about the person than he cares about the product. And he knows if he cares about the person, and supports the person, then they’re going to support the product.”

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Justin Hamilton, Patriots cornerbacks coach:

“I go back to when I was QC [quality control coach] in Tennessee, and I’m showing the [scout team] cards for the defense. Vrabes was the ‘mike’ linebacker for the ‘show’ team in the non-padded practices. Whether I coached it up, or just showed them the card and said ‘it’s just like this’, he was barking at me. Every play. I was thinking to myself, ‘I don’t know how to take this, but I’ll come back the next snap.’ I can’t remember who it was — it was one of the veteran players — and he said to me, ‘He’s just trying to find out who he can count on when stuff gets tight in the fourth quarter. So just keep going back and putting a smile on your face.’ He holds you to a standard and everything he does — whether it’s a joke, serious or something else — is intentional and for a reason.”

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Tony Dews, Patriots running backs coach:

“When we always get together for the first time, he always goes around the table and gets an update on what everybody’s kids are into. Then all through the year, he remembers everything. You’re walking up and down the hall and it’s, ‘How’s Taj doing in hockey? How’s Savannah doing in basketball?’ So he’s really into the family part of it. Then in Tennessee, the day we broke for the summer, he had a huge party at his house for everybody. He had food trucks. Face painting. Activities for the kids to do. Pool. Basketball. Just like we did this year with Halloween — with kids, players, families — and the coaches handed out candy and there were all big blow-up slides and jump houses. When he talks about family, you see he really means it.”

…

“My daughter was in ninth grade in Tennessee, she played basketball, we’re in the gym, me and my wife are sitting there. Here comes Mike and his wife [Jen]. And Frank [Piraino] and his wife. They’re just stopping by to watch a ninth-grade girls basketball game. A lot of people talk about family and caring about people, but here’s the head coach of the Tennessee Titans showing up at a ninth-grade girls basketball game. That means a lot.”

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Scott Booker, Patriots safeties coach:

“He has an ability to laugh at himself. The first time I remember that was when [former Titans linebacker] Will Compton did a skit on Mike and his team meetings. Will was spot-on, I think it was 2019. The players weren’t exactly sure how he was going to take it. And he was over there dying laughing. That said to the guys, ‘Hey, he’s the head coach, but he’s also a regular guy and we can mess with him just like everyone else.'”

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Players

Garrett Bradbury, Patriots center:

“It was early when we got here in OTAs. There’s a big open shower and there’s washcloths when you walk in. It was a problem. There was a bin to put your dirty washcloths and guys were just leaving their washcloths on the floor and equipment [staff] or custodial [staff] was having to pick them up. Vrabel, it was very simple — he didn’t say, ‘Hey guys, could you pick up your washcloths?’ He said, ‘Hey guys, washcloths have been a problem. I told equipment [staff] that if they see them on the ground, just pick them up, don’t wash them, and just throw them in the dryer and we’ll put them right back out there for you. Because these guys don’t need to be picking up your dirty washcloths.’

“And there hasn’t been any washcloth issues since. It’s a leadership style — you can ask your guys, or you be like, ‘Listen, this is how things are going to go.’ He fixed the problem. It’s a cool example of how he is.”

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Jahlani Tavai, Patriots linebacker:

“He’s all about his players. He showed that to me, especially when I was going through some stuff with my family. He was there at the hospital. And he’s been checking up on me and my family lately. He’s truly a player coach and I respect that out of him. It means a lot. If I have that kind of coach, I for sure am going to do whatever I can to play for him and execute what I got to do.”

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Will Campbell, Patriots offensive tackle:

“I don’t think I have a PG[-rated] story to tell.”

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Stefon Diggs, Patriots receiver:

“He’s a helluva coach. He’s like another father figure, too. He’s taught me a lot in a short span of time, as far as how you approach things, and rolling with the punches, keeping a positive mindset and being selfless. It’s something I wouldn’t say I struggled with throughout my career, but being a receiver it’s hard to be all about everybody else. But when I got here, he kind of showed me, through actions, it’s always for the greater good. You’ll come up with more wins that way and you’ll be just fine. Like finishing your blocks. You think it’s something small but it’s something that echoes throughout the team and shows guys you actually care — you’re trying to take a hit off a guy. Something small but it goes a long way.”

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Robert Spillane, Patriots linebacker:

“One of my favorite Vrabel stories came my rookie year [in 2018 with the Titans]. I didn’t think I would have a shot to play in the NFL. I thought my dreams were over. Coach Vrabel called me Thursday night and told me, ‘Get out here to make sure you can be a tryout player at rookie minicamp tonight.’ I did exactly that. It was a three-day minicamp. After that camp, I was awarded a 90-man roster spot. The first thing he did was say, ‘Call your mom.’ I was in his office and it was a special moment we shared. It was Mother’s Day and I was able to call my mom and say I was able to live out my dreams.”