HC Mike Vrabel names 'large' reason he accepted Patriots job

Mike Vrabel seemingly knew even before the end of the 2024 NFL regular season that he would "end up" becoming the next head coach of the New England Patriots even though many thought at that time that former New England teammate and Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady could target Vrabel for that club's opening. 

During a recent appearance on the OutKick "Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich" program, Vrabel touched upon how New England having 2024 first-round draft pick Drake Maye as its starting quarterback drew the Patriots Hall of Famer back to the organization. 

"I see a young, athletic, talented, full-of-potential player," Vrabel said about Maye, as shared by Chris Mason of MassLive. "Excited to build this team around (him) and a large part of the reason why I wanted to be here. And just that talent level, to be able to build around him and to be able to grow and help him and lead and run an offense and run a football team is something that I’m excited about." 

Maye flashed plenty of promise as a rookie over the first 12 starts of his career. According to Pro Football Reference, he ended the campaign ranked 18th in the NFL among qualified players with a 58.6 adjusted QBR and 13th with a 66.6 percent completion percentage. He passed for 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and StatMuse shows he was ninth among quarterbacks with 421 rushing yards. 

While Vrabel wants Maye to grow as a leader, it's also hoped that the hiring of longtime New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will further unlock the 22-year-old's full potential as a player who can torch defenses with both his arm and legs. It sounds like Vrabel isn't too concerned about Maye taking punishment whenever he becomes a ball-carrier during games. 

"He can throw from in the pocket," Vrabel added about Maye. "He can throw off platform. He can run. He can scramble. You can design some things for him. So I think you have pretty much everything in the playbook that you could possibly want available. He’s not just a pocket passer. He’s not just a guy that’s going to run. So there’s a lot of different ways that we’re hoping that he can be successful."

New England believes that the to-be-signed Stefon Diggs can be the No. 1 receiver Maye lacked as a rookie, even though Diggs is coming off a torn ACL he suffered this past October. 

As of Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Maye at +700 odds to record at least 4,000 passing yards while serving as a first-choice starter this coming season.