HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
January 16, 2026
Q: Can you give us any updates on player statuses?
MV: Harold Landry [III] will be questionable, Christian Gonzalez will be questionable and Terrell Jennings will be questionable.
Q: With respect to Harold, is it just kind of the continuation of this knee problem he's battled pretty much all year?
MV: Yeah, and we're just trying to do everything we can and give them enough time to see how it feels for Sunday.
Q: What do you remember about your pre-Draft evaluation of Jayden Higgins?
MV: I liked it a lot. I've known Matt Campbell for a long time and some of the coaches at Iowa State. They spoke highly of both him and Jaylin Noel. Long, athletic, productive, really good catch radius, willing to block. Those are all the same things that you see from his tape now, and the more he plays, I think the better he's gotten.
Q: A thought on Jahlani [Tavai] winning the Ed Block Courage Award?
MV: Yeah, I'm always excited for those guys that go through some adversity and persevere. Just going back to the offseason, not being able to fully participate in the OTAs and training camp, and with a new staff, guys are conscious of that, especially veterans like Jahlani, they're conscious of a new staff and want to give the best showing that they possibly can. Wasn't able to do that, stayed engaged, was a great leader. Started the season on IR and just a lot of different things that he battled – on the field, off the field – and remained a great teammate, focused, and has helped us. His versatility has really shown here in the second half of the season.
Q: How big is it to have [Khyiris] Tonga back?
MV: We'll find out on Sunday. He's great to have in practice, but what matters is what it's going to be on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. I would say that hopefully he could pick up where he left off in his production, what he was able to do and how he helped us inside there as an interior, rotational player with Milt [Milton Williams] and Christian [Barmore], playing all those guys. Cory [Durden]'s helped us – but that's what this league is about, it's about taking advantage of opportunities, getting an opportunity. When Tonga wasn't out there, that meant more snaps for Cory, and in this case, Leonard [Taylor III] and Eric [Gregory], and those guys all, I feel like, improved. Not only that, but took advantage of their opportunities. So, it'll be good to add Tonga back into that.
Q: I know that, as we sit here right now, Nico Collins has a question mark going into this game, but what stands out for you about that group of receivers on the other sideline?
MV: Well, they're not afraid to go inside. They run a lot of inside breaking routes in play action. They all block. I think they have a great mixture. [Xavier] Hutchinson has got a combo platter. [Christian] Kirk's played at a high level for a lot of years, a lot of inside slot production and not just option routes, stuff down the field, the vertical stuff down the field. The rookies that you alluded to, Higgins and Noel, that we were talking about earlier. I think it's a good complementary group. I've played against some of those guys before, and what Nico has done – go back to his pre-draft visit, meeting with him and watching his growth as a pro, he's a very good player.
Q: Mike, when you made the transition from playing to coaching, how much was it a challenge for you to give up the control on gameday? You didn't really have the control on the field. How did you handle that?
MV: I didn't miss that. I just had to learn how to not drive yourself crazy obsessing over the players. You have to be confident enough that you've helped them get to the game, prepared them and done everything that you can to put them in a position to be successful. But every coach wants their position group to do well, that they put a lot of time into it and want the players to do well for their own personal success, so they care a lot about them. So, you just have to manage, I think, the emotions of being invested – highly invested – but sometimes not having the best outcome.
Q: Given the strength of the Texans defense, I've heard some of the pundits, former players say the Patriots almost have to be perfect on Sunday. Is there pressure on your guys to be perfect in terms of not turning the ball over?
MV: No, I mean, we want to try to be as precise as possible. We even talked one time about being perfect since I've been here. We're aiming for success and not perfection. Nobody's going to be perfect. We're going to need to be precise. We know how critical taking care of the football is in every game, especially against a team that's plus-16 in the turnover margin. But I've never once said that we have to be perfect at anything.
Q: When it comes to Will [Campbell]'s unique role in the Friday meetings, how did that come about and how have you sort of seen him –?
MV: He's gotten a lot better. I told him after today he's going to be really good next year. How'd that come about? That came about because I wanted to add a little spice of life to my Friday meeting and my Friday tape, and so we came up with the weekend update.
Q: Mike, some coaches have the philosophy about it's just a game and we'll not talk about circumstances. Why, for you, do you embrace the circumstances and embrace it with your team?
MV: Well, you only get so many opportunities to be in this position. I talked about being in the AFC Championship game as a rookie in 1997 and not going back there in my time in Pittsburgh for the next three years – we didn't make the playoffs. So, things change quickly. Every season is unique and we should embrace the one we have, especially since a lot of us weren't involved in this a year ago.
Q: Mike, how do you manage the emotions of the team as you continue to progress throughout the playoffs?
MV: Not much to manage. I want them to be as emotional as they can and find some joy in playing, competing and practicing. Not doing anything – making great decisions after the whistle. I mean, I know it's going to be a hotly contested battle. That's what NFL football is about. It's about doing it each and every snap and then coming back to the huddle. So, if I have to manage emotions, it'll be to hopefully calm them down during the game and go from there. But I want everybody to have their own emotion and be ready for the game however they see fit.
Q: Mike, what was it like to have Tedy Bruschi back at practice yesterday? Have you guys had a chance to catch up at all?
MV: Not a ton. I have a job to do during practice and it's not to stand and talk to Tedy. If I want to talk to him, I can call him. I think it was just great that any time – and we've had a lot of former players come around here, a lot of former teammates of mine, and I love that they want to be around and glad that they're excited. Tedy's certainly done a lot to build this culture, this brand and this organization. So, to be able to have him here to cover any of our players, our football team, and then also to be here on a personal side, is always welcome.
Q: Mike, when you think back to your time in Houston as an assistant coach, what comes to mind?
MV: Great organization. Mr. and Mrs. McNair were very welcoming to the families, to my kids – the training camp and things like that. So, first of all, I would say that. my first opportunity in NFL football and pro football. A lot of great guys to coach on that team and defense. I really enjoyed the four years in Houston. I did. Just one stop on the journey. So, great organization, great town.
Q: When it comes to Alex Austin and Terrell [Jennings], do you see maybe activating either of them this week?
MV: Yeah, we'll kind of see where they are tomorrow, see where we are on the roster. I think that that's something that could happen. And again, when you're at 52, you have some space, but if you get over 53, then somebody's got to go. We'll just see where we're at tomorrow.
Q: Mike, in your experience, maybe coaching or playing, when you're dealing with a pass rush like Houston's, is there anything more effective to kind of wearing guys in a steady, effective run game?
MV: I mean, that would be a good place to start. They can't rush the run. But it's an attacking front, that's an attacking style. Just by trying to run the ball doesn't guarantee anything. You have to stay balanced and use multiple, whether it's movement passes, quick game, get the ball out. You're going to have to do different things and run the ball, and that's all part of what we've done throughout the season. So, continue to stay balanced, and you just can't get in a steady game of drop back passes and try to do that 40 times a game.
Q: Mike, in recent weeks, you've faced guys that are safety's in name, Kyle Hamilton, Derwin James [Jr.], Jalen Pitre. What kinds of challenges do those guys present? There's certain guys where you're like, "We would rather be in base and have them back at free safety than in the slot or in the box?"
MV: Maybe. I think probably what you see out of those players that you mentioned is just the versatility of that position that you're starting to see where they can fit in a run game, they can blitz, they pressure, they disguise well, and then when they're asked to match up in coverage, they do that. But sometimes teams will just go ahead and play nickel to certain packages. So, we'll have to see what their plan is against different personnel groups and whether they want to play substituted defense or they want to stay in base.
Q: You mentioned how a lot of these players haven't been in this position before. I'm curious, are you leaning on or have you noticed any other veterans in the room who have maybe had some more experience in the playoffs step up?
MV: Well, I thought we've had great leadership throughout this season, and guys like Morgan Moses and Garrett [Bradbury] in each position room. Whether it's Milt in the defensive line room, each position group has its own group of guys. And so, if we can continue to get those guys in those rooms to reach out to three or four people and make connections, then we have a chance to reach the whole team. So, like we've said all along, we don't put restrictions on leadership. Anybody that can help us, regardless of age or status, if they can help us lead and help somebody else, we're all in favor of it.
