Mike Vrabel didn’t make too much of his return to Tennessee in Week 7, keeping his focus on the Patriots and their game plan.
It didn’t go unnoticed by the players.
“It meant a lot to us, him downplaying it, not making it a big deal,“ Patriots quarterback Drake Maye said on WEEI on Monday. ”He cared about us, he cared about his team. And he said that was in the past and now he’s moved on, he’s worried about us."
Maye noted that he left his old high school and played them later on. So while it wasn’t the same level of Vrabel’s return to Tennessee, he could sort of understand what his coach was feeling.
“It just means more, and we know it means more for him to go back to the place he has history and had great success," Maye said. “So we wanted to win it for him ,and it was cool to see him care in the locker room and show some emotion.”
A video posted by the Patriots showed Vrabel receiving the game ball from Maye. Vrabel was then surrounded by the team as they celebrated.
The Patriots came out of Nashville with a 31-13 win. They’ve now won four straight games, sit at 5-2 on the season and are first place in the AFC East.
Vrabel has quickly turned the identity of the team around after two straight 4-13 seasons. Players have bought into his ideas and know what he looks for each and every week.
“We love playing for coach,” Maye said.
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