Karen Guregian: What Mike Vrabel plans to tell Patriots in Super Bowl pre-game speech

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Karen Guregian: What Mike Vrabel plans to tell Patriots in Super Bowl pre-game speech

Karen Guregian · MassLive

Sun, Feb 8, 2026 ·

4 min read

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Karen Guregian’s football analysis is sponsored by Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers , a Leading Boston Personal Injury Firm.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — All season long, Mike Vrabel has known exactly what to say to his players before they head out to the field. He’s known every button to push, every point to emphasize and just the right message to deliver before games.

His pregame sermons have been a hit.

Now comes the Super Bowl, where his Cinderella team isn’t expected to win on most dance cards. They aren’t expected to put the finishing touches on their rags-to-riches story.

Earlier in the week, I caught up with Vrabel to get an idea of what he planned to tell the Patriots before the most important game of their lives.

He assured me the team wouldn’t win or lose based on any speech. Their fate hinged more on “execution, taking care of the football and all the things that we preach.”

But, Vrabel, who was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year Thursday night, didn’t want to diminish the pregame moment either.

He knew he had to deliver. He told me it was important to find the right balance between firing them up and getting the salient points across.

“I don’t want to bomb it,” Vrabel said. “I just want to land it somewhere right in the middle. So there’s a little bit of emotion, but they’re not just standing there looking at each other and they’re also not trying to run through a brick wall.

“These guys are all going to be different in how fired up they are, how emotional they are, how outwardly emotional they are. So you’re just trying to send something to the masses. You’re trying to hit it in the center.”

Vrabel didn’t know how he would set the tone. The Patriots coach hadn’t crossed that bridge just yet. That would come at some point late Saturday night.

That’s when he’d retreat to his room inside the Santa Clara Marriott. He’d grab a pen and notepad, gather his thoughts, and jot down a few notes about the message he wanted to convey just before the Patriots took the field in Super Bowl 60 against the Seattle Seahawks .

“I might put some ideas down. But it’s brief. It better be quick, it better be to the point. I just want to keep it flowing,” Vrabel said. “I know Stef (Diggs) comes in and says some things. Some other guys say some things. They’d get mad at me if I go too long.”

Actually, it’s just the opposite. Several players say they enjoy listening to whatever he’s preaching. They look forward to what he has to say whether it’s his pregame speech or otherwise. And they would never impose any time limits on the coach.

Drake Maye could listen to him all day.

“He does a great job of kind of relating to us, being able to talk as a player and now as a coach of his experiences of winning Super Bowls,” the Patriots quarterback said. “Just being able to kind of hit home at spots or moments this season that we can relate back to.

“I remember we talked about it at the beginning of the season, talking about our stories and what hopes we had. Our hopes were to win the big game and win the Super Bowl, and look where we’re at now. All those hopes are coming to a reality. So I think Coach does a great job of relating to us and relaying a message that hits home for all of us.”

Linebacker Jack Gibbens said his favorite Vrabel day is Friday. That’s when the coach has a squad meeting and lays out exactly how the Patriots will beat the next opponent.

“No matter what the message is, if you can give it in a way that people believe in it, I think that’s what he does best,” said Gibbens, who was also with Vrabel in Tennessee . “The message is the right one most of the time, but I think the way he gives it, he gets guys to believe in it. Any message if you believe in it is powerful.”

Vrabel understands the power his words wield. He knows he has a captive audience. And he doesn’t take that for granted, especially in the moments just before his team takes the field in the final game of the season, the one that may change their lives forever.

“There’s some things I want to tell ‘em. And there’s some thoughts, and it’s usually tying the week together,” Vrabel said. “They’re ready to play. I don’t want to get long-winded. But it’s an important time.”

“It’s an honor for me to go out and talk to these guys before they go out and play. I’m not trying to head-butt anybody. I’m trying to be honest with them, and tell them what I need … but usually it’s just a culmination of the week. That’s what I’m trying to do. And just tell ‘em I can’t wait to watch ‘em play."

The latter is Vrabel’s usual go-to line before sending the team out. It’s an affirmation that he’s pleased with how the week has gone, he’s proud to lead them and see the results of all of their hard work during the week.

It’s one part coach, one part parent, and the players appreciate it.

“When you have a head coach who says something like that, it’s reassuring that the hay’s in the barn. We’ve prepared the best we can,” offensive lineman Ben Brown said. “All that’s left for us to do is to go out there and play and perform. It takes the stress off a little bit. We’re just let free.”

Morgan Moses took it a step further.

“Coaches coach. Players make it come to life. When he says he looks forward to seeing you play, it’s like he’s proud of us,” the veteran tackle said. “He’s proud of the way we handled the week. The obstacles we’ve overcome.

“Sunday is the day where you let it all out. So when he says that, it’s like he’s a proud father, ‘I can’t wait to see my guys go out there and release, release pain and run around for 60 minutes.”

Asked if he was moved by any of the coaches he had as a player, Vrabel thought for a minute, before answering.

“I’ve been with coaches that are very animated and excited. And had other ones who walk in there and say ‘Let’s break it down,”' he said. “I’ve had pretty much a wide range, if you can imagine. Just look at some of the guys I’ve been with. Whether that’s Bill Cowher, Bill Belichick, Urban Meyer, Bill O’Brien, so everybody prepares differently for those few minutes.

“This week will be important because there will be a big break from the time we go out. So I don’t know how excited we want to be when we leave that locker room.”

Vrabel, who tried to replicate the expected time gaps before the game as well as halftime during practice Friday, doesn’t miss a beat. He’s thought of everything and is beyond prepared.

While he’s gotten in front of the players and spoken with them throughout the week, including Saturday night, his final words will be the most telling.

At some point before kickoff Sunday, Vrabel will walk into the Patriots locker room at Levi’s Stadium, with a rolled up paper in his hand containing those scribbled-out notes and set his players into motion.

“You look forward to him addressing the team because you know there’s substance behind whatever he’s saying ... he knows what he’s talking about,” said linebacker Harold Landry , who was also with Vrabel in Tennessee. “I don’t think there’s a coach who better prepares a team than he does, has the knowledge of the game he does and breaks it down to what the game is going to come down to, and what we have to do to succeed.

“I think if you want to have success as a player, you should listen every single time when he’s speaking.”

Will Campbell agreed.

“He’s relatable. He’s been in this situation before ... that goes a long way,” the rookie tackle said. “He’s already dropped some gems on us this week. But I know he’ll have something ready to go for Sunday. "

Something they’re not likely to forget.

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