Tom Brady addresses if Mike Vrabel can return Patriots to winning ways

Long before the New England Patriots hired Mike Vrabel to be their next head coach this past winter, he and Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady shared a locker room when they earned three Super Bowl rings together as teammates with the Patriots from 2001-08.

During a recent chat with DJ Siddiqi of SportsCasting, Brady explained why he's confident Vrabel is the right man to get the Patriots back to winning ways after the franchise missed the playoffs four times over the past five seasons.

"Mike’s a great coach, and the Patriots have a great leader for that organization," Brady said. "I know he’s going to do a great job. I know he’s all about tough, disciplined, hard-nosed physical brand of football. He’s a terrific coach and a great friend of mine still."

Late last year, numerous stories linked Vrabel with the Raiders even before Las Vegas parted ways with head coach Antonio Pierce. However, a January report revealed that "the Raiders never requested an interview or tried to bring Mike Vrabel in because Vrabel essentially told Tom Brady, 'I’m gonna end up going back to New England.'"

Vrabel went 54-45 and won the Associated Press Coach of the Year Award while serving as head coach of the Tennessee Titans from 2018–23. He more recently worked as a consultant with the Cleveland Browns throughout much of 2024. The Patriots inducted Vrabel into the franchise's Hall of Fame in the fall of 2023.

Meanwhile, Brady's Raiders ultimately hired former Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll as Pierce's replacement. 

"He’s got this no-bulls— mentality about him and I love that," Brady said about what Vrabel will bring to the Patriots. "That’s why I think he and I have always connected. It’s this mentality that we’re not making excuses, we’re going to go out there and get the job done, and we’re not going to complain. We’re going to work hard and we’re going to be resilient, and that’s how you get things done."

Almost immediately after Vrabel accepted the New England gig, stories mentioned how he would shift the culture for a team that was called "soft" by former coach Jerod Mayo last season. Per Chris Mason of MassLive, New England wide receiver DeMario Douglas noted on Monday that he likes that Vrabel has "been on a winning team and he knows the culture" needed "to win" at the highest level. 

"When you’re in tough competition, you’re not going to make excuses, you’re going to go out there and give it your best every day. I love that mentality," Brady added about Vrabel.