PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
January 7, 2026
Q: My understanding is the Cardinals asked for permission to talk to Thomas Brown. I was wondering what he's provided, what he's done for you?
MV: I want the best for every single coach that's here. I do. And we'll focus on that. Whenever they can talk to our coaches, we'll approach that. I'm excited for every one of them that could get an opportunity. I'll help them however I can, but our focus is obviously on the Chargers this week and a huge task against a really good football team.
Q: Other than the obvious physical tools, what does Derwin James [Jr.] bring to the table that makes him so good?
MV: I think he's got really good instincts when he blitzes, whether to go inside or go outside. I think he has a passion, there's a love for football, there's a play demeanor. He's a very good tackler. He can cover. He matches up. He has versatility to play down, close to the line of scrimmage. He can play in the deeper part of the field. Again, just having the luxury to coach a Pro Bowl, he was on that team, and just an unbelievable person. I remember his mom was getting married, and he communicated, he reached out like, "Hey, I'm going to miss a day." I was like, "Buddy, I don't think there's any rules to the Pro Bowl." So, just remembering that about him, I always have a lot of respect for him. Obviously, the player he is, but the person.
Q: Mike, it seems like Drake [Maye] has a lot of answers to defensive tests this year. What is it about you and Josh [McDaniels], the whole staff, being sort of proactive about making sure he's ready when he sees something maybe that –
MV: There's a lot of growth there. I think a lot of growth as we've worked from the offseason through training camp and joint practices versus the Commanders, the Vikings and against our defense, and then working through the regular season. Just trying to give him the best chance and to put us in the right situation. I think he's learned from some of those instances where maybe he could have gone to something else, and I think he's learned from that. So, that's been really good to see, and that's credit to Josh, obviously, and Ashton [Grant].
Q: Mike, what's the Chargers' playing style? You've talked a lot about your own. What have you kind of learned about them and what they do well?
MV: Big, physical football team. They don't really beat themselves. They're statistically excellent in every category across the front. Defensively, they don't just stop the run well, they don't give up, but they're good on third down, they're good on the short yardage – excellent. In the red zone, I think it's – you look at a play that broke against the Texans, it was a screen to the left, and every single guy on defense is chasing the ball. Khalil Mack wins the race, hammers the football out and causes a fumble. So, those are the things that I can appreciate with a defense or for a team, and this is certainly a team that's going to play that way.
Q: Mike, how much has Morgan Moses meant to your team and this locker room?
MV: Great veteran presence. He's played well; it hasn't just been a presence. He's protected the quarterback, and he's been out there. We've got some guys sick today, and Morgan will be in that group of guys that are sick. So, he won't be getting the physical reps, but just everything that we've wanted him to be and needed him to be as far as changing over some personnel and adding him. So, it's been fun to watch that group gel.
Q: Mike, who else is sick?
MV: [Garrett] Bradbury, Anfernee Jennings, Vederian Lowe.
Q: Mike, how much do you rely on team identity as you get into the playoffs and what you've been able to build since, really, day one here?
MV: Well, we've said this numerous times, you can't just play hard and hope to win, run like this with the football and hope that you're going to be able to break tackles or gain a bunch of yards. So, you need production, you need execution. So, I think that it helps – it's critical, and being able to keep our composure, whatever happens in the football game, making sure that we execute in critical situations. So again, I think that the identity is important, but execution, guys making plays and us all sticking together is going to mean the most.
Q: Mike, the Chargers are second in the league in time of possession. What do they do well that allows them to hold onto the ball, and in a playoff situation, how dangerous is a team that holds onto the ball for a long time?
MV: Well, they certainly are either No. 1 or 2, based on whatever you look at. They do a nice job. They don't mind being in third-and-3 and running it to stay on track because they're really good on third down. [They've got a] quarterback that can scramble for a first down, they can run it. They can – multiple different route concepts in those down-and-distances. So, just probably the more that they possess it, obviously, the less that we get it, but I also think it's a mentality where they're trying to wear you down and win the game in the fourth quarter, put their five-minute offense out there and run it to win it.
Q: Mike, last time when we had a playoff game here, you were the visiting team's head coach. You described this place as a viper's den. I know it's been a couple of years, but what did that term mean to you back then, and what does it take to rebuild that kind of reputation with your current team?
MV: Well, it's just got to be a tough place to play in January. If we're able to get there in January like we are, we have to create an environment that makes it difficult to play. Whatever the record was back when I was looking at the stats in 2019, 21-3 or whatever it was in January – I'm going to be off by a couple games because it's a few years ago – but we were talking about what we would have to do to come in and win. We need to create a hard environment, we need to play well, let our crowd feed off of us and let us feed off of them.
Q: Mike, when you have players like Milton [Williams] and Harold Landry [III] – if he comes back this week – dealing with injury, do you have a sense of where you might be from a pass rush standpoint midweek, or do you have to find out in the first quarter, kind of once the game gets going?
MV: On a pass rush?
Q: Yeah, how much rush you might have with just your typical four.
MV: Nah, I don't think that's ever something that you could tell in practice. You've got to go out there and win in live action, and not only win, you have to be able to get the guy on the ground. Justin [Herbert]'s just – great play strength, toughness, can avoid and scramble for a lot of yards and can stiff arm you. So again, I think that'll have to be determined Sunday night.
Q: Mike, with Rhamondre Stevenson, he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week, which was actually the first time he has gotten this award in his career. What was it like to see him get that recognition for his performance?
MV: Always excited for our players. I sound like a broken record, but I think he continued to do the things that we needed him to do to help us win, and in turn, was rewarded for it with touchdowns, with rushing yards, with a big catch there. But also, he protected the quarterback. So, I'm excited and happy for him. We recognized him, and then we moved on.
Q: Mike, it's the first game of the season where it's win or go home. Do you sense a heightened sense of urgency around you this week?
MV: We need to embrace the preparation, and I want them to continue to enjoy the execution and everything that goes on with this. I'm excited. I'm excited for these guys to prepare, I'm excited to coach them. So, I hope that we're locked in every week, and I imagine we'll get everything we can out of them.
Q: Mike, what does it mean – you just kind of alluded to it – just to be in this position, bringing playoff football back to Foxborough?
MV: Yeah, I mean, I'm happy, I'm excited, but also, we're not here just to get here. We have to be able to host games and compete for championships. So, there's not going to be any consolation prize for anybody. We understand what we have to do.
Q: In previous matchups with Greg Roman, what have you noticed about how he operates? Does he kind of have a style that he adheres to?
MV: Well, I mean, Greg is going to – they're going to be physical and they're going the marry play action pass off the run actions. They're going to look at things that have given you trouble in the past. They've got their core concepts, mixed personnel, use big people. He had Lamar Jackson, so it's probably a little different. With as much quarterback run – they have it, we'll have to be ready for it, I just don't know if it'll be as much as what he did with Lamar Jackson. But there's a lot of carry over. There's also a lot of growth in what he's done with mixing personnel. Keeping you guessing, moving guys around, motioning to get guys at the point of attack.
Q: Mike, we've asked you a lot this year about Drake as a leader. How have you seen him demand more from his teammates, and would this be the kind of week where you'd expect him to lead in that fashion?
MV: I would hope that he would lead as our quarterback every single week. This is the next week. It's an important week. I think just the command that he has in the huddle. In practice, you see communication with guys off on the side, when maybe the defense is working. I see things during the game where he's trying to get guys on the same page and communicate to them and that relationship there. So, I think he's continuing to work at it. Again, everybody's trying to become a little better leader.
Q: Obviously, you guys had a lot of success this year. There's a lot of head-coach-moving going on in the league. Do you look back and think of your year off from being a head coach as being beneficial?
MV: It was the only option I had, so I guess I didn't have a choice.
Q: Mike, you talked offensively about X plays coming from 70% guys making a play, 50% scheme. Defensively, does that hold true, because I know, obviously, L.A.'s been really, really good at denying those X plays. It seems a lot of it is structural, but where's that balance?
MV: Well, I mean, I imagine that for – this was league wide when I just did a quick – when you look through each week. Some of those numbers may be off, but I think sometimes schematically, I think the way you tackle goes into that a lot, the way you play the football down the field. Split safety versus post safety, I think there's some things that go into it. I just was saying that it's not always going to just be the best player making a play. Sometimes you're going to get schemed open. Sometimes we're going to have to go make a play, it's a one-on-one matchup, and that's kind of how those things are created. Running backs, it'd be like, 'That's a really cool run, was untouched and everybody was blocked.' Sometimes you've got to make a guy miss and break a tackle. Don't take me too literally here, I apologize. I was just trying to say that it's a combination.
Q: You mentioned Justin Herbert a couple times. With his physical skills, how much of a challenge is he?
MV: A lot. He's got toughness, great arm talent, great athletic ability. He's under duress and it doesn't really affect him. You don't see him get frustrated. A lot of respect for him as a person, and obviously as a player. He's lived up to everything that they thought he'd be as a franchise quarterback, and he's really just one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
Q: Seems like those six offensive line packages have been a very big reason for the run game success recently. I'm curious, what led to the decision to maybe lean on those looks more, and also, why has it been so successful for you guys?
MV: I think any time that we block the guys at the line of scrimmage and we block a support player, that we're able to run the football. So, if that's six linemen, if we need seven, I'll probably draw the line there. But, however many guys we need to put out there that can move somebody off the line of scrimmage and block support, that's what I'm in favor of.
