Former Titans' Center Ben Jones Opens Up On Mike Vrabel's Diligence and Building Relationships in Training Camp

"Everything has a purpose. You're not just going out there to bang heads every day to see who is the toughest guy," Jones said (h/t ESPN.com) And he preaches that in meetings that the coach -- [players] should be able to ask them, 'Why are we doing this? What does this help us with? How can we attain our goals from it?' So, every person is held accountable.

"You're not just going out there filling a sheet with drills that don't carry over to team [portion of practice]. ... And you're not just going out there doing the same drills every day."

Vrabel's diligence with each drill and rep at practices is what's garnered the respect his players have for him. When a player feels they have a voice and are respected by their coaching staff, it allows the coach to ask and receive more from their players.

Jones continued by explaining Vrabel's mindset around making sure players are taking care of their bodies and getting the proper recovery.

"You think he's some hard-nosed tough guy that played with Belichick through those years and won those Super Bowls, but he is very detailed on how the body recovers. He puts together a plan with trainers, equipment guys, weight room," Jones said. "His whole goal is to win games, not to win camp. ... I think that approach to it is a lot different from most everybody else.

"Most everybody else is, 'We have to be a tough, physical team right away.' He knows, 'We want a tough team when it comes Week 1 through Week 18. We don't need to beat everybody up early in camp.'"

With Vrabel's toughness and diligence, though, Jones also described the personal, warm side of his new head coach. Vrabel will be focused on his players and getting them ready for the season, but he won't forget to make time for the fans in attendance as well.

"I feel like his interaction with fans is special. He takes time, talks to kids, signs autographs a lot of the days. I know a lot of head coaches don't spend that much time with the kids and fans," Jones said. "I have three kids and they were always welcome anytime.

"My daughter still calls and FaceTimes him all the time; anytime we're playing sports, she'll be like, 'Send that to Coach Vrabel.' So he has a relationship with his guys, and he builds a relationship with fans and their kids, especially. You can tell kids mean a lot to him."

Vrabel has a wife and two sons of his own, and it's obvious the head coach tries to make football a family affair. From family to the field, the last thing Jones said you'll see out of Vrabel during training camp will come as no surprise.

Expect to see Vrabel get in on the action with his players, competing and demonstrating what he wants to see in drills. After all, we saw it as recently as this year's draft when Vrabel lined up against first-round pick Will Campbell.

"He's very hands-on, because he knows what it's supposed to feel like, he knows what he wants it to look like," Jones said. "So if a guy has been struggling on a certain block in practice, or he wants it to look a different way, it's not uncommon to see him bouncing into drill to drill ... because he wants to show them, 'This is what it's supposed to look like.'

"Anytime he would come in our drill, we made sure we lit him up. The idea was 'maybe he won't come down here tomorrow.' Just gave him a little extra hit and he used to give us a hard time by saying, 'You're all just trying to take advantage of me.'"

Whether Vrabel is watching every detail, putting a body recovery plan together, visiting with fans, or getting in the trenches with his players, the Patriots' first training camp under their new head coach should come with some entertaining stories.

New England's first training camp practice begins on July 23 and will run through August 10 before the Patriots' first preseason game on August 16 against the Minnesota Vikings.