Mike Vrabel made it a tradition to greet his players after a game before they went into the locker room.
That remained the case after the Patriots’ Super Bowl 60 loss.
A video posted by the NFL showed Vrabel shaking hands and giving hugs to several players. Understandably emotional, Vrabel made sure to give his players some words of encouragement.
“Three-hundred and seven days. We just played 307 days.” he said. “We got a lot more days ahead of us. We got a lot more football left in our program.”
Vrabel was shown leaning against the wall in a moment of vulnerability. As more players came down, the coach told them he appreciated them, was happy to have them on his team and that they needed to continue to stick together despite the biggest loss of their careers.
“We gotta make sure whatever happens in (the locker room), that we’re pissed together,” Vrabel said.
The Patriots finished 2025 with a 14-3 record under Vrabel in his first year. Drake Maye took a huge leap from Year 1 to Year 2 and finished runner-up in MVP voting.
Vrabel immediately changed the culture and the players bought in. It paid off despite the outcome of Super Bowl 60, and Vrabel showed he can be the guy to get New England back to its winning ways.