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The Patriot Way is now the Mike Vrabel Way and it’s working
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- The Patriot Way is now the Mike Vrabel Way and it’s working
The Patriots aren’t back.
Sure, the uniforms are the same and so is the owner. But this isn’t a reboot of the Patriots Dynasty or The Patriot Way. This is a new team constructed in a different way with a different culture.
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The Patriots aren’t back, they’re here. The New England team heading to Santa Clara for Super Bowl 60 isn’t rebooting something old. It’s in the early stages of something new, which has been pretty special so far.
Stefon Diggs has spent a career on teams that were good, but couldn’t quite get over the top to reach the Super Bowl. He said Mike Vrabel is why the 2025 Patriots are different.
“I’m just really thankful to be a part of this team,” he said. “(Vrabel) stayed the same, consistent the whole time. When we lost to the Steelers and a couple of those games early. When nobody believed in us, our coach believed in us. He helped us build this identity. He held us to the same standard. I’m super thankful. ... The camaraderie and team chemistry he built from the coaching position is second to none.”
Bill Belichick’s approach worked for 20 seasons in New England. His old school, demanding approach led to six Lombardi Trophies and could land him in the Hall of Fame next week. His players respected him like no other.
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But they love Vrabel. It’s not better. It’s just different. He’s not Pete Carroll performative rah-rah. There’s still a demanding toughness to him.
The Patriot way is now the Mike Vrabel Way and it’s working.
After back-to-back disasters under Belichick in 2023 and Jerod Mayo in 2024, the Patriots restocked Vrabel’s first roster with not only talented guys, but culture guys. Milton Williams , Robert Spillane , Mack Hollins and Diggs have been more than the sum of their stats.
And even when the Patriots started the season 1-2, Vrabel coached them like a team that was going to be a good football team.
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“You have to believe things before you can see them. You have to believe what you’re doing is the right thing and if it’s not you have to make adjustments,” Vrabel said. “We have a great group of guys. They believe in things we did. We formed an identity and we try to protect it.”
Saying a team is like a family comes straight from Sports Cliches 101. Every team at every level says that.
But Vrabel rallied the team around Terrell Williams after the defensive coordinator’s cancer diagnosis. He gave Rhamondre Stevenson a chance to bounce back after his early fumble issues.
The players want to reward that. They want to be the player he challenges them to be.
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“Nobody expected us to be here,” linebacker Christian Elliss said. “No one gave us the benefit of the doubt. But Vrabes came in, kudos to him, and made a culture that we believed in. We stuck with it and here we are."
Vrabel can join an exclusive club of men to win the Super Bowl as a player and a coach and could be the first to do both with the same franchise.
Asked what getting to a Super Bowl meant to him in a new role, Vrabel looked proud.
"I do this for the players. I’ve been in their position and it’s amazing. I want other people to feel that feeling," he said. “It’s for our families that make a lot of sacrifices and the excitement and the joy that they have.”
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Still, Diggs wanted something tangible for his coach.
“I hope he wins coach of the year,” Diggs said. “He’s the best coach I’ve ever had.”
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