A new regime is taking over in New England ahead of the 2025 season, but familiar faces are returning to Foxborough with hopes to turn things around.
Speaking to the media for the first time since the hire of Mike Vrabel, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye said he's excited to get to work with the new coaching staff.
"Yeah, he reached out to me and we got on the phone. He's been awesome," Maye said Friday night at the 2025 Pro Bowl Games, via Sirius XM. "Obviously, a guy who's done it and played in the league and won a Super Bowl, you have a respect of what he's done and seeing what he's done. I think the biggest thing is he's been a head coach and he knows what it's like. So excited to get up to New England and get things going."
Maye, who was a late addition to the Pro Bowl roster, had an up-and-down rookie season. Following a 1-4 start by the Patriots, he was inserted into the starting lineup over veteran Jacoby Brissett and finished his rookie campaign with a 3-9 record under center, throwing for 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The No. 3 overall pick from the 2024 NFL Draft also contributed 421 rushing yards and two TDs on the ground.
New England's 2024 season resulted in a 4-13 record, leading to Jerod Mayo's exit and Vrabel's hiring.
Even though Vrabel has not coached since he parted ways with the Tennessee Titans in 2024, he was one of the most experienced coaches in this year's cycle. In his six seasons in Tennessee, the Titans had a 54-45 record with three playoff trips. Vrabel also won the 2021 AP NFL Coach of the Year award.
In Vrabel's introductory news conference as the Patriots head coach, he said he wanted to get "great people around" Maye. One piece of the puzzle in attempting to unlock Maye's potential is their new offensive coordinator. The Patriots hired Josh McDaniels as the team's OC, a familiar figure who held the title on two previous occasions in New England.
Maye praised McDaniels' coaching history, including his work with Tom Brady.
"Coach McDaniels, obviously, what he's done there and the success he's had. Fortunate to be able to have a guy come in who's done it at a high level and learn from him coaching one of the best ever and the best ever, in my opinion, Tom (Brady)," Maye said of working with McDaniels. "Got a great chance to go back and all those years of film you have in a little database, it's all their play calls and all coach McDaniels' stuff and what he did with Tom. It's fortunate for me to go back and study it up and get ready for this next season."
Now, Vrabel and McDaniels will be tasked to turn things around in New England while cultivating a promising signal-caller in Maye.
