PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
January 23, 2026
Q: Just looking for the usual Friday update on the players.
MV: Yeah, [Harold] Landry [III] will be out. [Marte] Mapu, Carlton Davis [III] and Mack Hollins will be questionable.
Q: Is there any chance Landry winds up on IR?
MV: I mean, there's chances that anything could happen, yeah.
Q: I'm just thinking about roster spots.
MV: Yeah, I mean there's a lot of different things that we can do, but I wouldn't read too much into it. He's not going to play Sunday.
Q: How have Mack and Carlton looked over the course of the week?
MV: Good. They've been able to get back in there, Carlton's working his way through protocol, and then Mack's return to play, just like Josh [Joshua] Farmer and Terrell Jennings.
Q: Mike, I'm sure you've noticed a lot of people are talking about this game. How do you get the players to drown out the noise? Do you advise them to stay off their phones, is there any special â
MV: Okay, yeah, try that, yeah. Stay off their phones. Yeah, I'll try that, see if that works. No, we just try to stay as consistent as possible. I think from the time that we started this thing up until now, we try to stay as consistent as possible, continue to coach the actions, not the results, focus on the things that we need to do to win, the environment, making sure that our operation is good, the defense is as prepared as possible for anything that could happen, and the special teams and their role in the game â that's about all you can do. I'll try to stay off your phone thing, see if that works.
Q: A few of your players have said that they kind of relish the feeling of going into hostile territory and a loud crowd that they feel like it's maybe a little bit against them, they just have each other in their corner. Do you share that feeling? Do you like going into hostile territory on the road?
MV: I don't dislike it. I mean, I think that these â again, everybody does such a great job with the environment, the atmosphere, that you kind of take it all in. And that's part of enjoying everything that this is about as you continue to win and move on, that those are things that you can enjoy. I know they have a lot of support from our fans, from their family and people that are traveling to the game.
Q: How has Darrell Taylor gotten acclimated so far?
MV: Yeah, we released Darrell Taylor. We'll put that out here at four o'clock, so not very well.
Q: Mike, on Landry, just how much does â you talk about the players and how happy you are for them to experience this â with your background with Harold, knowing how much he puts into it and he's taken to the team, I don't want to be dramatic but â
MV: It's probably not the right time to talk about it, Mike [Reiss]. I appreciate you bringing that up. Harold does mean a lot to me, going back a lot of years. And yeah, again, I am disappointed for people that I care about when they are frustrated or they don't feel great. So, I think we can have another conversation about it, but yeah, I would always feel for any of our players that put a lot into it and aren't able to perform, do what they want to do and try to help the team.
Q: Mike, from a self-scouting lens, do you have to be mindful of the disguises you pair with certain coverages so those don't get repetitive?
MV: I think what you have to be careful of is that you can disguise and end up being where you need to be for your job. I think that's most important. I think sometimes you can go overboard and try to disguise, and then not be able to be where you're supposed to be to do your job. So, I think that's the most important thing.
Q: Drake [Maye] is a finalist for MVP this year. How much is that a testament to him being set up for success in this offense, but also to his own unique ability?
MV: Yeah, again, these individual awards are because the players went out and performed, and they prepared and they had help in their preparation. But ultimately, when they score touchdowns and they run for touchdowns, the player's going out there and making plays. The coaches have a small part in that and then they do a great job, but again, our success is weighed on the ability of the players to comprehend what's going on, understand it very quickly, process, and then make a play and make the correct one.
Q: With the impending storm here, do you have any idea on whether you're going to be able to get back, or are you planning on staying another day?
MV: I think we have multiple plans of what could go based on the weather â something that they're familiar with here, I mean, there's things I can control. Players staying off their phone and the weather, two things that I can't control.
Q: The totality of the practice week, how did you feel?
MV: Good. I'm at good energy, good juice today, great meetings. Will [Campbell] continues to improve in the weekend update, and that's been good to see.
Q: Mike, you've been in this game as a player and as a coach. Is there a way to fight the anxious feelings and nervous feelings that a player's going to have because of a game of this kind of magnitude?
MV: Try to keep things as normal as possible, and continue to prepare and focus on the little things as opposed to anything else. Focus on just small details of your job and how you can help contribute to our success.
Q: How do you feel Anfernee Jennings has done these last few games?
MV: Really well. He's going to be a game captain, and that's deservedly so. So, I appreciate you asking that, Soph [Sophie Weller]. And he has, again, a professionalism that he's shown throughout this entire season. Appreciate it, appreciate him taking advantage of his opportunities, playing physical, playing on special teams, finding a role. So again, that was an easy pick for me this week. So, I appreciate your question.
Q: Mike, in terms of substitutions, do you have a plan going in or is that something you're going to have to have a feel for given the altitude and so on?
MV: Well, we play a lot of people. I mean, I think if you look â we play a lot of people, receivers, 50, 60, 55%, the edge guys and D-line, we play a bunch of people. So, we'll have to see where we are from a secondary standpoint, but everybody's preparing as a starter and I would say ready to go to get reps during the week. And we'll have to monitor that. No different than an injury or anything else.
Q: Mike, Jeremy Springer said that every day is fourth-and-1 with you, and just being prepared, I'm sure you kept up the pop quizzes that you had in Tennessee, but how does those players and coaches being prepared for those pop quizzes translate to the field?
MV: I mean, by this time, they know that we're going to have mental P, mental preparation on Thursdays. I just try to make sure everybody's ready to go, and that they're doing their part to help the team and be prepared.
Q: Mike, you've experienced playing in Denver as a player. Have you shared any of those experiences with this group with what they may be able to expect?
MV: Told them we took a safety one time and then we kicked off and we stopped them and then scored a touchdown. So, never know when those situations are going to come up.
Q: Ben [Benjamin] Watson make any teeth shake?
MV: With the great effort play. No, we try to use, as of now â and again, that's a phenomenal play â try to glorify our guys' efforts right now. Not to discredit what Ben did that night, but try to show our guys doing the things that we've asked them to do. So, that's where we've kind of trended to lately.
Q: Is it harder to manage the roster this time of year with so many guys coming back and guys you might want to work with in the future?
MV: I think that there's things that you have to have conversations about and being able to get the right group of guys. And then you start to get into the return to play guys and who do you want to help? Or who do you want to try to use and get back? And then who can you elevate, different things like that. So yeah, that's all part of it. As you get later on in the season, the return to play guys could increase.
Q: You trust team identity, players having fun out there. Is the touchdown celebration part of that? We saw you do it as a player. We have even seen you on the sidelines kind of having fun with the guys. Any favorites?
MV: Anytime we score, I'm excited, as long as it doesn't hurt the team in a negative way and give us a penalty. So, we've talked about scoring touchdowns in this league and being excited. We can go all the way back to training camp and have that conversation. So, just believe that we're going to score them, find a way to score them, and then let the guys have fun.
Q: Mike, maybe this is a question better for after the game, but what would it mean to you to lead this group of guys to a Super Bowl?
MV: I probably haven't thought about it a whole lot, just being in the preparation of staying in the present, what we need to do today, what time I'm going to get a haircut and all that other stuff to stay on schedule. I just enjoy coaching these guys. You probably take it for granted, coaching and then getting another opportunity, and I've told them that. And so, to do it with guys that are fun to be around, nobody takes themselves too seriously, they give it to me, I give it back to them, and we try to get ready to go play a game.
Q: Why is the bonding and togetherness of a team so important to build a championship-style roster? It feels like that's a pretty consistent theme.
MV: Well, you go through a lot. You go through a lot and games are tight, they're close. There's good times, there's bad times. There's things that happen through the course of the year that you can't account for off the field. On the field there's injuries. It's just, every week is its own little saga. So, the closer that you can become kind of helps guys get through, helps coaches get through just the rigors of this league, as opposed to just being a bunch of independent contractors.
