Mike Vrabel has changed a long-standing Bill Belichick tradition

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has learned a lot from Bill Belichick, but the former linebacker provided another reminder on Sunday that he is determined to do things his own way.

Vrabel made a major change to the Patriots’ pregame introductions for the team’s Week 8 game against the Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. For the first time since 2001, Patriots players were introduced as individuals when they took the field rather than as a team.

Belichick famously had the Patriots come out as a team prior to their 20-17 win over the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, which was the very beginning of a Tom Brady-led dynasty. Vrabel was a linebacker on that team.

New England stuck with the approach throughout Belichick’s entire tenure and up until Sunday, but Vrabel felt it was time for a change.

“Just feel like these guys put a lot into it and would like to recognize them individually. Hopefully our fans can embrace that and get excited for them,” Vrabel told reporters after Sunday’s game, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “It’s something that I felt like we wanted to do, create some energy early and get them to recognize the players’ efforts, and allow these fans to support us, which they did. It was getting loud on third down. We’ve got to continue to play hard for them so that they cheer for us.”

Quarterback Drake Maye admitted that he was “a little bit nervous” for the intros since he has “literally no swag.” Tight end Hunter Henry joked that the team needs “a lot of improvement” after being accustomed to running onto the field together as a group.

The Patriots are 6-2 after having won five straight games. They are in first in the AFC East, which very few people expected at this point in the season. Though their schedule has been soft, they had an impressive road win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 5 that could have a major impact on the standings later in the year.

Belichick’s relationship with the Patriots has been strained since he left after the 2023 season. That became more evident than ever with the petty move the six-time Super Bowl champion made in his first year with UNC. Vrabel seems determined to move on from the Belichick era, and the player introductions on Sunday were another reminder of that.