PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
January 19, 2026
Q: I was wondering if you can share any recollections about playing in Denver and if there's any kind of different way you need to prepare for them given the altitude?
MV: Other than going out there last Thursday – which wouldn't have been an ideal situation considering we had to play last night, but I think just physiologically you have to be at altitude for longer than a day or two or three. It takes time to do that. So, we'll do what we've always done. We'll travel, be in condition and be ready to play. That's kind of about what it is.
Q: Mike, do you anticipate Mack Hollins practicing this week?
MV: I can't be certain right now. We're just still working through everything with some of those guys that could be back. Josh Farmer could be eligible to come back, as well as Mack. But those aren't decisions that we've made yet.
Q: Can you elaborate some more on why it's important to you to get into the tunnel after the game and greet players as they come off the field?
MV: Yeah, I've done this since 2018. These guys – this is a tough game. It's a physical game. They're beat up. They're banged up. I want to thank them. It's a good opportunity to see them. We may not have the opportunity to go around to see each and every one of them after the game, so I feel like that's a good chance to thank them and be appreciative of their efforts whether we win or lose.
Q: Coach, yesterday Drake Maye said he's still getting adjusted to your sarcasm. How do you strike that balance between being the guy that players can approach but also making sure you're still the head coach?
MV: Yeah, I try to be as approachable as possible. I think the biggest thing is getting out of your office. Whether the door to your office is always open still doesn't mean they want to come in, sit down and talk. So, trying to find places and meet them where they're at, be in meeting rooms, be in the cafeteria, be in the weight room, places like that.
Q: I know you've talked about him before, but where have you seen Kayshon Boutte develop most this year?
MV: Probably just his versatility. I think he's an easy learner, could play a bunch of different spots if we asked him to. But also, I wasn't around Kayshon before this year, so I don't have anything to go off of. I just know that he's very unselfish, that he makes the most of his opportunities, seems to be, and has been, a highly competitive player. Doesn't say a whole lot, does his work, has always been accountable and is where he needs to be when he needs to be there. You notice his actions, you don't necessarily hear them. That's just his personality. But you can certainly see that his identity when he plays is exactly what we want.
Q: With a guy like Kayshon, who obviously, like you said, you've never worked with – when you join a team and there's players who have been there before, how do you balance having an open mind about that player, but also getting as much information about him as possible from people who were with him the past few years?
MV: I think we tried to listen to people that had been around some of the players that we had on the roster getting here. But then, it's usually best to just kind of go by what you see and what you experience, as opposed to what you hear.
Q: Mike, on that fourth down play early in the game and the touchdown to Pop [DeMario Douglas], what makes him a trustworthy player in a situation like that?
MV: I think that that just goes back to training camp, goes back to the OTAs. Pop has really done a nice job in being ready to go. And I know that, like every other receiver, they wish that they had more snaps and they wish they had more targets. By taking advantage of the ones that he gets, which he has done, we have to continue to find ways to get him to the football and have him help us. So, I think that that's just a confidence that's been built up through training camp and the offseason.
Q: Mike, this morning on the radio, you mentioned that you did some offseason work on Jarrett Stidham. I'm just curious what you saw from him as a quarterback when you were doing that work.
MV: Well, I guess it was kind of ironic, just speaking with his agent. They're like, "Well, if you don't want your starter to get hurt, sign Jarrett." That was before yesterday or two days ago. Just going back to when Josh [McDaniels] had him and playing against that. I think he sees things really well. I think he's athletic enough to extend, like we talk about a lot of quarterbacks. Accuracy. I think the decision-making – he's really decisive in the games that we went back and watched. This is even going back to when I was in Tennessee as well.
Q: Mike, your team has a really good road record. It seems like the guys like going out on the road. How do you feel they do and prepare for that type of challenge in a hostile environment?
MV: I just think that they really focus in on the road environment, like you said, of starting well, not beating ourselves, trying to be good at the line of scrimmage, the communication offensively that's required to make sure that everybody's on the same page, that the snap count is good and that guys are moving when they're supposed to be moving. I think we've executed in some critical situations when we've needed to on the road, and those are things that are important.
Q: Coach, why has this team been so good this year at seizing momentum and maintaining it? As you know, in football, it's not like basketball, there's no 10-0 runs. When you guys have been able to get momentum, you've been able to keep it on your sideline. What has the key been in you being able to do that?
MV: I think the guys don't get too high or too low. Hopefully, we can understand that we can feed off each other, but also pick each other up. The defense has been doing that a little bit lately. We have to do a better job of not making it be a sudden change, but making it be complementary. When the offense is rolling, getting the ball back to them quickly. But also, if the situation arises that we have to go out there and play defense on short notice, that we're able to do that as well. And then offensively, we can string some drives together, and the special teams continue to try to set the table.
Q: Mike, you've had to face two of the better defenses in the playoffs, in the Chargers and Texans. Where do you fit Denver's defense in that?
MV: Again, they'll be the best defense that we've played to date, because it's the next one. That's just how this goes. They're playing with a lot of confidence. They're good on the perimeter, really good up front. The athleticism, they have size, they put a lot of pressure on you. That's just how this thing goes. Each and every week, they get tougher.
Q: Going back to John [Sarianides]'s question, is keeping your composure something you preach and maybe rep in practice, or is that more about the guys that you have in the building?
MV: I think we try to preach it. We try to take guys to the line. We can't finish longer than the guy with the ball and play full tilt to the tackle. We try to take them to the edge, ask them to pull off and not do anything after the whistle, and not be the second guy in and make great decisions. Sometimes that's hard. This is an emotional game. For the most part, I think we've made great decisions, and guys have been able to do that and not do anything that would affect the team after the whistle.
Q: On Carlton Davis [III] How do you feel he played yesterday? And also, how do you balance wanting your cornerback to play aggressive –
MV: They have to. They have to play aggressive. Again, it gets lonely out there. We understand that. But the thing that I appreciate about our guys is they come back, they compete, they challenge and good things happen. I don't think you can't challenge out there and give free-access throws all day. I appreciate that. We'll try to continue to coach it, show them what they're seeing and how some of these penalties may or may not be avoidable.
Q: Every week that goes by it seems like you guys are getting more attention. We're part of the problem there with the media focusing on you and the lights getting brighter. Now the AFC Championship game, what's the messaging to your players, if you can share it, about keep doing what you've been doing all year long, and look at each other and not what's going on with what we're saying about it?
MV: Just try to keep it all in perspective. I want them to enjoy everything about this, but we have to also embrace the preparation and everything that's required to get us to this point, and then being able to perform and being able to go on the road in a hostile environment. As far as messaging, I have some time until Wednesday to land the plane on that, but I'm sure it'll be pretty consistent with what we've done up until then.
Q: Was there any particular reason why a deal with Jarrett Stidham didn't come together in the offseason?
MV: It was a long time ago. I don't really recall.
Q: How did you feel like the defensive line for you guys did in terms of resetting the line of scrimmage?
MV: That's what we expect of them. It's got to be a strength for us, and if they do that in the run game, which they did, and play good against the combination blocks and the double teams, I thought that was pretty impressive. We'll need the same effort against the run game against Denver, another good offensive line. So again, I think they're working hard at it. I think that they have continued to improve in that regard. So, it's good to see [Khyiris] Tonga out there, good to see Milt [Milton Williams] get some more game action. They all did a nice job. Everyone that played for us did.
Q: To follow up on Karen [Guregian], did you have any tricks for dealing with Denver, with the height, with the oxygen levels being different?
MV: No tricks. Just play well, try to be prepared and the better condition that you are, the less of an impact that that's going to make. There's no tricks.
Q: Mike, can I get your thoughts on the job Craig Woodson's doing, stepping in as a rookie and making an impact?
MV: Very consistent, continues to improve, he takes coaching, he practices hard every day. He's really been a good tackler for us. It was good to see him make some plays on the football yesterday, catching the tip ball and then being a factor on some other throws where he got some PBUs – we had 14 PBUs yesterday. So, the more times you touch the ball or hit the quarterback, those are good for the defense. But he's an easy guy to coach, he's very coachable. You don't have to explain things too many times to him, he usually tries to get it. He makes mistakes, but not too many, and rarely makes the same mistake twice.
Q: Have you seen the teams kind of switch up their tendencies, or is there more of a feeling out period in the playoffs, and does that make a greater emphasis on adjustments, either at halftime or throughout the game?
MV: I mean, I just think people have their concepts. We knew that this was going to be a run, play action boot game, and some of the plays that we got came off of those, came off the boots. So, the guys did a good job, they were prepared and they executed.
Q: Has it been a conscious change in tendency for you guys to blitz a little bit more these last couple games? Is that something that philosophically you just feel like you have to do this time of year? What's led to that shift?
MV: Just trying to affect the quarterback. Trying to figure out how we need to affect the quarterback each week.
