Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was named one of 11 members of the committee for the 2026 season.
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was named one of 11 members of the committee for the 2026 season.Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press
PHOENIX — In the Bill Belichick days, the Patriots often butted heads with the NFL’s competition committee, a small group of owners, general managers, and head coaches tasked with developing rule changes for the betterment of the sport.
The committee created the “Ty Law rule” — an emphasis on illegal contact — after the Patriots suffocated the Colts in the playoffs. It rejected Belichick’s plan to move the extra point back, then stole it from him the next year and got it approved. It outlawed the creative eligible-ineligible tactics Belichick legally weaponized against the Ravens. It never relented on Belichick’s quest to allow all plays to be reviewed by instant replay. Belichick especially hated all the new kickoff rules.
“We’ll see how smart some of that really is,” he said a decade ago.
But the Patriots and the competition committee walk in lockstep these days. Second-year coach Mike Vrabel was named one of 11 members of the committee for the 2026 season, along with Broncos coach Sean Payton. They replace former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and former Dolphins GM Chris Grier.
Vrabel and Payton were previously on the committee, with Vrabel serving in the 2022 and 2023 seasons while coach of the Titans. Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones, a co-chairman of the committee, said it was a no-brainer to bring Vrabel back, considering his experience as a player and coach.
“He’s so outstanding, he’s so well thought out, and he’s very well versed in knowing the rules. He prides himself in that,” Jones said this past week from the NFL owners’ meetings at the Arizona Biltmore. “That’s why it’s not surprising [the Patriots] were in the Super Bowl. I have nothing but respect for him, and we’re lucky to have him back on the committee.”
The committee made Vrabel’s offseason a little busier. Barely a week after the Super Bowl, he traveled to Indianapolis to participate in committee meetings for several days ahead of the NFL Combine. The committee met again in mid-March in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., finalized its list of new rule proposals for 2026, and presented them to the owners this past week. All five proposals — mostly modest tweaks to the kickoff and one contingency plan in case of replacement officials this fall — were passed by the owners.
Vrabel relishes the opportunity to serve on one of the NFL’s most important committees.
“It’s an opportunity to help grow the game,” Vrabel said. “To be able to serve the game and serve the coaches, and what would be best for the players, and ultimately the fans. It’s time well served.”
Vrabel’s fellow committee members praise him for his knowledge, thoroughness, and passion for debate. Though the committee didn’t propose any major rule changes this year, Vrabel took a particular interest in the “replay assist” process and making sure the New York replay center is properly staffed, particularly during the 1 p.m. games, where most replay errors occurred.
“Mike’s got an opinion,” quipped Rich McKay, the former Falcons CEO who is a also a co-chairman of the committee. “And the good thing is he’s passionate, very clear in his position, and not unreasonable. Sometimes people get it where they’ll take a position and not be able to see the other side or understand the bigger picture, and that’s not Mike. He adds a lot, a lot of debate.”
Patriots fans already have seen plenty of Vrabel’s mastery of the rules, most notably the loophole he exploited in the 2019 playoffs when the Titans were able to milk nearly two minutes off the clock without running a play in their win over the Patriots. In 2025, Vrabel and his vice president of strategy, John Streicher, sealed the win over the Saints with a timely challenge flag to keep the clock moving.
Vrabel downplayed any advantage he gets from being on the committee, saying, “I think the same rulebook is available to everybody else.” But it certainly gives him a detailed look at the rules process.
“What he is, is incredibly knowledgeable,” said Rams coach Sean McVay, also a member of the competition committee. “Situational understanding, capacity for the game, ability to be able to not be afraid to say what his opinion is, but in a way that’s very digestible and understandable. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Vrabes better in those settings. He’s a stud.”
Vrabel said he believes the committee’s main goal should be to simplify and streamline its rules to make the game easier for fans and officials.
“The consistency is critical, and making sure that we understand what’s available to us in replay and what they’re looking at in replay,” Vrabel said. “The technology is so good that our fans have access to everything those replay officials do, so hopefully we can get them to understand that wasn’t a third step, that wasn’t a football move, he didn’t survive the ground, all those things that I think help our fans understand what we’re looking at.”
The Patriots used to squabble constantly with the competition committee. Now they have a respected man on the inside.
“Huge plus to have on the committee,” Jones said of Vrabel. “He just pushes for making sure everything was well thought out. He was very detailed about how he goes about it, he’s very detailed about all the proposals that are in front of us. Nothing but respect for that guy.”
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.