PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
September 19, 2025
MV: I'll start off by saying Keion [White], Gonzo [Christian Gonzalez] and Jack Westover will be questionable for the game. No other injury designations.
Q: Beyond being questionable, how did Christian seem coming along in his first few practices back?
MV: We listed him as limited, which means that he did some work, and we'll still kind of evaluate where he's at towards closer to the game. So again, it was good to see him out there. It's very good to have him out there, and the more guys we can get out there, the better.
Q: Mike, sort of a bigger picture question. No full pads in practices the last two weeks –
MV: Shoulder pads is full pads. You can't cut anymore. We don't cut in practice. I've never seen a difference in having a thigh pad, which is that thick, is going to be a difference. So, I've never, as a player or a coach, thought that that was any different, and I actually like the way that we practiced, the speed and what we were able to get done on Thursday. I mean, we can go back into the time machine, and it's not like you can cut out there on a perimeter or anything that you – there would be no difference to have pants on, shorts or shoulder pads.
Q: Players talked about coming out with a fire last week and just trying to keep up the same intensity this week. Through three days of practice, how do you think the team responded?
MV: Good. Again, Sunday is critical, and building consistency is critical in the preparation and how you want to play, but also the response that you have when you play, and if it's not perfect or it's not going great or they come back, you've got to be able to take a few punches and be able to come back. So, hopefully, we're building that and we're building that identity. That's critical.
Q: You guys have had an open spot on the roster for a couple weeks. Do you guys plan on filling that?
MV: I mean, if we need to find a 53rd guy. So, it just gives us a little bit of flexibility, I think.
Q: Mike, another bigger picture question. I know quarters-based defense has been more popular the last 10 years, but why is this game, of all the ones you've coached in, practiced and played in, the best one for this team?
MV: Well, we're going to be multiple. I mean, we're not going to – week-to-week, those things are going to change. What we're going to think is going to give us the best chance, and whether that's cover two or playing man and all the different variations. So, hopefully we stay multiple enough, we can disguise it enough. Limiting being better in explosive gains.
Q: How do you strike that balance on offense and defense, trying to be multiple and do different things each week while still making sure that guys are comfortable doing all that?
MV: Yeah, I mean, that's just what you try to evaluate, and probably defensively it's probably a little easier just because that's your normal installation. Offense, maybe you want to try – there's a specific scheme play or something like that that would have some tweaks, and as you practice it, just like defense, if you try to put something in and you don't think that they have it, it's not fair to them to continue to try to force it to make it work. There's other options, and so if you don't necessarily think it looks great each week, then you try to remove it and find an alternative that maybe is something that we've already done. But, defensively, I think we have a full menu of coverages that we can play.
Q: We talked about the tackling and just putting more of an emphasis on that this week. How do you think the team responded to that in practice?
MV: In practice, fine. We'll see how the game goes. The only thing that matters now is how we tackle in the game. How we're able to tackle [Jaylen] Warren, Jonnu [Smith] and DK [Metcalf] and [Calvin] Austin [III] and those skill players, that's what matters. And again, there was a lot of times of good tackling and then some – I think probably other than [De'Von] Achane, I can't really think of a missed tackle that led to some significant gain. So, that means we're swarming to the football. There's good evidence of that, which will always help miss tackles. I think if you could just – I mean, we have to be able to not miss as many tackles, but also track what those lead to. The yardage, the amount of yardage that they lead to. So again, we've continued to practice it. We'll continue to work it and look for positive results on Sunday.
Q: Garrett Bradbury said he's never seen a coach spend more time with the O-line than you. How do you go about deciding how you allot your time throughout the week? Does that change each week?
MV: I think that my ability to be at a lot of different places, I think that's part of being a head coach is spending time in the defense, spending time with the D-line, the D-line and the O-line room are right next to each other, makes it easy to get to, and if I can, as I'm watching film help from a play style perspective, give input to that, [I] certainly enjoy that. I think just learning it in Tennessee, having my son Tyler [Vrabel] play the position, continue to follow it, and then being in Cleveland for a year kind of with that group, I've tried to expand the knowledge in that specific room. So, if I can help at any point, I think that it's probably a good idea.
Q: Mike, I know you never coached him, went head-to-head with [Julian] Edelman in a couple different games. Any favorite memories when he was a player here?
MV: Just a pure competitor, just a pure warrior out on the field, just toughness, great play demeanor and really willing to do anything to help the football team. So, excited for him this weekend, his family and his journey. We talk about everybody's journey to the NFL and it looks a little different for everybody, but very worthy to be in the Hall of Fame here.
Q: You spend any time with Bill Parcells?
MV: Just over phone conversations.
Q: Mike, how much of your time is spent with these guys throughout the season on individual skill development, or are you more macro in your position?
MV: I'm trying to track that. I'm trying to track what we do in individual, trying to track how our younger players, our practice squad players are preparing. Ask them to prepare as starters, improve and get them opportunities. And the way that we practice, hopefully, is giving them that. Those are their reps on the show team. It may be the same as what we do, it may be slightly different, but they're still running routes to get open. They're still competing and doing all those things, and they're still blocking them. We don't want anybody to be a blocking dummy out there, we want them to go practice and work on things. So, I think that that gives them great opportunity. So, I try to be involved with it.
Q: Mike, what was your biggest takeaway from your time being a Pittsburgh Steeler?
MV: I think a really well-run, family organization. Just the Rooney family, I was very lucky to be brought into the NFL by that organization. I learned a lot, great veterans. The veterans that showed us what it was like to be a pro, what it was like, had guys like Dermontti Dawson, Mark Bruener, and I can go on and on and on. Levon Kirkland, Carnell Lake, all these different players that were unbelievable players, but people, husbands and fathers, and really, that's the NFL that I knew. It was impressive.
