FOXBOROUGH - Since he was hired as the Patriots coach in January, people have been sending Mike Vrabel souvenirs for his Gillette Stadium office.
He’s hung some of them, he’ll get around to hanging the rest. The decorating job, much like Vrabel’s rebuild of the Patriots, is unfinished.
It’s a work in progress and for good reason. Arranging what’s on the field takes priority over what’s on his walls.
“Stick (equipment manager Preston Rogers) keeps sending me jerseys to put up,” Vrabel said. “God bless him … and people give me stuff. They mail stuff. People send me hats. I just put up whatever they send me. Old pictures. Somebody sent me a nice (wooden) tray. I’ll wait til we have a house and I’ll take that home.”
What is already on display in his spacious office digs, captures his history, as well as his future with the Patriots.
A green helmet, featuring signatures from Will Campbell and every member of the Patriots 2025 draft class, sits high atop the massive shelf behind Vrabel’s desk.
The un-Patriot-like color, representative of Green Bay, which hosted the NFL draft, immediately stands out from the doorway.
Sitting alongside is one of the silver helmets Vrabel wore as a Patriots player two decades ago.
“Well, I think it’s one of mine,” Vrabel chimed in, “but I’m not going to put it on to see if it fits.”
There isn’t much doubt about the validity of some of the other memorabilia adorning the office.
Directly behind Vrabel, is a framed photo of the former linebacker and part-time tight end catching a touchdown pass from Tom Brady that helped beat the Carolina Panthers in the 2003 Super Bowl.
The picture, which reflects Vrabel’s talent and versatility as a player, was found in storage and delivered to the new coach not long after he was hired.
Below, propped against the wall is a framed front page from the Tennessean. A story on Vrabel’s son, Carter, is featured just below the banner of the Nashville newspaper.
That was a gift from Stacey James, the Patriots Vice President of Communications. In another corner of the room are two framed No. 50 Vrabel jerseys in their blue and white editions.
In that same nook, there used to be a treadmill.
“We got rid of that,” Vrabel said. “It’s in the weight room where I thought it would get better use down there than in here.”
Wait. Vrabel doesn’t work out?
“I do,” he said with a smile. “But I figure the least I can do is walk down to the weight room to use it.”
Conversations with Vrabel typically feature a wisecrack, laced with his dry wit.
Verbal curveballs are his specialty.
While his office features many of the comforts of a downstairs family room (big screen TV, mini-fridge, computer monitor, table and chairs, erase boards) Vrabel doesn’t allow himself to get too comfortable.
It’s Monday, not long after the Patriots finished practice, and there’s still work to do. He’s about to prep for meetings. The Patriots coach is also expecting some players to drop by.
And right on cue, newly appointed captain Marcus Jones arrives and is waiting outside, seated on a couch.
With the season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders a few days away, Patriots headquarters is abuzz.
Vrabel, who has generated much of the excitement, is eager to see how well the team performs when the bright lights come on.
Because he’s been under those lights, wearing the jerseys that are now hanging on the wall, he understands the pressure to be successful here.
“I think pressure is part of this job, and part of this league. We have to put a competitive product out there and win,” he said. “Our job is to compete as we build this thing. That’s the whole idea.
“The expectations are high. But that’s where they have to be.”
They are high. Many national pundits have projected the Patriots to be a playoff team, which is one of Vrabel’s stated goals.
Does the Patriots coach, who inherited a team that went 4-13 the last two seasons, wish he might have been a little less bold?
Not for a second.
Vrabel isn’t the type to regret much of anything.
“I just keep it moving. There’s going to be a lot of things I probably shouldn’t say,” he said. “Sometimes I can’t help myself. Unfortunately, I say the quiet part out loud.”
That’s also part of his charm. Vrabel enjoys trading barbs with the players, and anyone else who crosses his path. No one is immune.
Even Bill Belichick.
When Vrabel was a player, he wasn’t afraid to poke fun at the Hoodie while he was standing right next to him.
Perhaps that stems from Vrabel, an only child, growing up in a house with a coach. Both his parents were educators and Chuck Vrabel, his father and hero, coached at Norton High School in Akron, Ohio.
“He was a high school basketball coach,” Vrabel said. ”I thought that was pretty cool.”
Vrabel also learned the importance of being a part of a team, and the value of hard work by watching the teams his father coached.
Asked if he was like his dad, Vrabel sat back in his chair, thought about the question, before offering his answer.
“I probably talk more,” he said, flashing an impish grin. “But I think I have some of the same qualities and characteristics. He would get after it, but he had a big heart.”
Vrabel started his coaching career at his alma mater Ohio State before moving to the pros in Houston (linebackers coach, defensive coordinator), then Tennessee (head coach), and Cleveland (coaching consultant).
His favorite part about being a coach?
“Watching players improve. Seeing guys improve, gain confidence, and find a role on a football team,” Vrabel said. “I enjoy that. I take great satisfaction in that.
“When they excel, it’s because they put the time and effort in, and they’re able to understand it, and get it. Our job is to be creative and find ways to help them develop. Teach them, inspire them, and make a connection.”
When Vrabel was a player, he was occasionally called to Belichick’s office, which was in a different part of the facility back then. Belichick’s lair wasn’t much like the one he’s sitting in now.
“He had a window,” Vrabel said, “and you’d have to go by Berj (Najarian) to get to Bill.”
Now, players have to go by John ‘Stretch’ Streicher — Vrabel’s most trusted aide — to get to the head coach. That works just fine for Vrabel, who likes having Stretch close by.
“I just think he’s got a very good demeanor, a good grasp, a good holistic understanding of what we’re trying to do,” Vrabel said of Stretch. “And he also tells me when I’m wrong. He’s a very good guardrail for me when I need to be reminded, ‘Hey, that’s probably not the right thing.”'
Streicher’s office doubles as the waiting room and reception area outside Vrabel’s office.
Unlike his expected timeline as the team’s coach, the office is temporary. Vrabel and the coaching staff will be moving into a new office next spring when the Patriots’ state-of-the-art training facility that abuts the practice field is expected to be completed.
While there are no windows in this office, he’ll have plenty of outside views in the new digs.
For now, though, Vrabel is happy with his surroundings. He’s exactly where he wants to be.
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