The New England Patriots have been one of the biggest offseason stories in the NFL due to their hiring of new coach Mike Vrabel to replace Jerod Mayo after one season. They replaced Bill Belichick after 23 seasons and six Super Bowl championships with Mayo, but something was not clicking, and after one season, they replaced him with Vrabel.
The Patriots started mandatory minicamps this week, and the buzz around the team and overall preparation has felt different. Vrabel is a seasoned NFL coach who seems to be already earning the players’ respect. Third-year defensive end Keion White recently spoke about the difference in coaching and preparedness while throwing some not-so-subtle shade at Mayo.
“I was training myself, I’m not going to lie,” White said. “Now, I feel like I have a coach.”
“I like Mike. He leads with work. I can respect that,” White said. “It’s similar to Bill (Belichick), with a younger face. We all know how I feel about that; I liked him. So it’s comforting to know that you have a hard-(expletive) at the helm who will not be afraid to fistfight with you in a back alley.”
White was drafted in the 2023 NFL Draft in the 2nd round out of Georgia Tech and went viral for his reaction. While it was only one season, he was able to experience a year with Belichick, then Mayo, and now Vrabel, so it has been a roller coaster. But when you hear someone like him say that the coaching this year is much different and much better than it is, it’s a massive shot at Mayo.
During the 2024 NFL season, White was one of the best defensive players on the roster. He took a massive step in his development and could be a great defensive player moving forward under the new staff.
White had 56 tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles, and five passes defended. Those numbers could get even bigger under the new coaching staff, especially with Vrabel being a defensive-minded coach.
New England would always keep it in the Patriots family when they moved off of Belichick, and Mayo was the obvious choice because he was already on staff. Still, after a bad first year where it was clear he was not ready, Vrabel was the next best choice as a former player under Belichick and a coach with a history of getting the best out of his players when he was with the Tennessee Titans.
The fact that a current player came out and supported Vrabel this much means that he is making waves in the organization, but we won’t be able to judge too much until Week 1 kicks off.
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