What Mike Vrabel said about his plan to develop Drake Maye

Patriots

The opportunity to work with a young, talented quarterback was one in all the aspects that drew Mike Vrabel back to New England.

Vrable interviewed for other head coaching jobs, but he selected the Patriots. He had great success as a player in New England, so it was a homecoming of sorts. He is accustomed to the ownership group. And now he has the chance to assist Drake Maye fully exploit its potential.

The recent Patriots coach was asked Monday how he plans to develop Maye.

“Put great people around you,” Vrabel said. “We have to. I would say my involvement will be about game management and situational awareness as well as where we are on the football field and trying to develop him as a leader of the offense.”

“When a quarterback calls the play, you want to say that everyone is going to believe he's going to score a touchdown…Drake is going to be his own person, but I'm going to give him some things that I feel like are necessary with that.” we are able to win football games. “

Improving the offensive line will likely be a top priority for New England this offseason. Maye and Jacoby Brissett combined for 52 sacks last season.

“I think with player acquisition, I think you look at what's available in free agency and what you can do – feel like you can sign and then you see what you do with it,” said Vrable. “Obviously you have a look at the teams which have the power to guard the quarterback and dictate the flow of the sport offensively and make certain we're solid and powerful up front, whether it's through free agency or the draft, that's something that’s decisive.”

“The D-linemen are getting better every year,” he added. “They are becoming more and more disruptive. They become bigger and more powerful. So when they try to disrupt our quarterback, we have to have some things that compensate for that.”

Maye will also need weapons to throw at. None of the Patriots' receivers totaled more than 700 yards last season. Hunter Henry was a reliable target at tight end. DeMario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte have shown potential. But overall, the unit wasn't very productive last season.

A change in personnel will only be part of the solution, said Vrabel. He said he plans to use an aggressive but not reckless style.

“Of course, personnel is the first route,” he said. “And then scheme and elegance and tempo and cadence and all those things, if our players can handle it, then we'll switch, we'll move, we'll play with different cadence, we'll go on the ball and.”Try , doing all the things that cause conflict.

“But it won’t be at the expense of the players. If the players can only handle so much, then we will do that and get really good at it.”

Offensive coordinators play a leading role in shaping a football team's offensive plan and style. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said Josh McDaniels could be a top candidate to join Vrabel's staff. The athlete McDaniels also listed the top candidates along with Nick Caley, Josh McCown, Tim Kelly, Charles London and Tommy Rees. The Patriots have yet to say whether Alex Van Pelt will stay or not.

McDaniels won six Super Bowls as an assistant under Bill Belichick and left the Patriots twice to seek head coaching opportunities elsewhere.

Caley, a former Patriots tight ends coach who works for the Rams in the same capacity, gave an interview for the opening last year.

McCown, a former NFL quarterback and current Vikings quarterbacks coach, worked with Maye when Maye was in high school, and Maye said he was close friends with McCown's two sons.

Kelly and London worked with Vrabel in Tennessee. Kelly, now the Giants' tight ends coach, was the Titans' offensive coordinator in 2023. London was the passing game coordinator this season.

Vrabel said he looks for efficiency, versatility and creativity in his offense.

“We have to be a very efficient passing team,” Vrabel said. “When you look statistically at what wins in the National Football League, our ability to influence the other team's quarterback and provide efficient quarterbacking and passing plays a large part in our success.

“There's numerous ways to do that – protecting the center of the pocket and all of the things we'll discuss as we go forward,” he added. “But how we protect the football, how aggressive but not reckless we’re, how we understand where we’re in the sport and the situational awareness that I believe I developed over six years after which my senior yr in Cleveland.” `