When the Patriots parted with Jerod Mayo after one season, most everyone believed they knew who would replace him: Mike Vrabel.
The former Patriots star and Titans coach predictably landed the job, but questions remained. After sparring with former Titans general manager Jon Robinson during their time together in Nashville -- especially over Robinson's decision to trade receiver A.J. Brown -- Vrabel would be forced to find common ground with returning de facto GM Eliot Wolf in New England instead of teaming up with his own personnel chief selection.
Some wondered whether Wolf's days might be numbered upon Vrabel's hiring. That doesn't seem to be the case though, as Vrabel said all of the right things regarding Wolf during an appearance on WEEI.
“Absolutely,” Vrabel said when asked if he'd be comfortable working with Wolf, via Boston.com. “Beyond comfortable. I wouldn’t be here, and I think through the conversations and the interview process, and the conversations with Eliot and with [Patriots owner] Robert (Kraft) and with Jonathan (Kraft), and just trying to put a roster together and a program.
“To me, that’s the biggest thing, I want to try to put a program around our coaches, our support staff, our personnel department, our players most especially, that people want to be a part of, that they’re proud of.”
Much of what Vrabel has said since being hired seems to be centered on building a rock-solid program that exudes consistency, regardless of initial results. It seems intentional; after all, the Patriots were anything but consistent under Mayo, a fact that extended from the field to the coach's own dealings in public relations.
Vrabel, however, has made it clear he intends to steady the ship, and as Wolf hopefully supplies him with talent upgrades over the next year and beyond, the coach will be willing to adjust accordingly with the same goal in mind: return the Patriots to prominence.
“Our best player was our running back,” Vrabel explained when asked if his team's offense would lean on the run as much as his Titans teams did. “So we tried to structure the offense, build the offense around what we felt like was our best player and what was our strength. When we did have pieces around that we felt comfortable with, we threw it just as successfully as we ran it.
“You base whatever system and scheme that you have around the players you have. I do think there’s a lot of versatility around, not only myself but also, hopefully, the coaches that we hire.”
The scheme starts with quarterback Drake Maye, who proved himself as the signal-caller of the future in his rookie season despite operating in an offense that lacked quality talent around him. Vrabel didn't shy from Maye's importance to the team's long-term plans, but stressed he wants his team to remain "efficient and explosive."
Speaking of the offense, Vrabel still needs to fill out his staff, including offensive coordinator. Just as Vrabel was an obvious choice in New England, many expect him to dial another past Patriots lieutenant, Josh McDaniels, during his hiring process.
Vrabel wouldn't commit to hiring McDaniels outright, instead turning back to the same goal: Build a dependable program regardless of the names associated with it.
“Um … yeah, I mean, I’m going to look at every possible candidate that can help us,” Vrabel said. “We’re going to start that process today, this afternoon, and visit with some great coaches and then we’ll see where things go.”
Judging by his time in Tennessee, Vrabel has already demonstrated he can build a winning team. His quest to do the same in New England begins now.