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Sport Bilder des Tages May 20, 2025 Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel speaks to the media before the team s OTA held on the practice field at Gillette Stadium. /CSM Foxborough USA – ZUMAc04_ 20250520_zma_c04_023 Copyright: xEricxCanhax

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Sport Bilder des Tages May 20, 2025 Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel speaks to the media before the team s OTA held on the practice field at Gillette Stadium. /CSM Foxborough USA – ZUMAc04_ 20250520_zma_c04_023 Copyright: xEricxCanhax
When the Patriots dynasty was at its peak, Mike Vrabel was more than a linebacker. Indeed, he was a Swiss Army knife in Bill Belichick‘s arsenal. From sealing the edge to dropping into coverage to catching Super Bowl touchdowns, Vrabel lived the “Do your job” philosophy before it became a poster child slogan. Flash forward to 2025, and that same no-nonsense DNA still characterizes him. But now, it’s directed into mentoring from the sidelines. This week at Gillette Stadium, Vrabel had an experience that was more than just training camp exercises. He offered football advice of substance to a veteran Patriots teammate.
Recently, Vrabel hosted Dan Koppen and his high school team from La Salle Academy at Patriots training camp. Koppen, a two-time Super Bowl winner and former Patriots center, brought his Rams to Foxborough. That visit was for a flavor of NFL football and to listen to somebody who’s been down the same path. “So when you guys get to training camp with Coach Koppen, build a team, earn a role, and then prepare to win,” Vrabel informed the players following Monday’s padded practice. The message was biting, direct. Also, it mirrored the same tone that Vrabel instilled in his Patriots players mere days before. “You guys have a hell of a staff and take care of your football team. That’s the most important thing you can do.”
It wasn’t merely a handshake and an address. Vrabel spent real time with the group. Smiling for photos, chatting with Koppen, and letting the high schoolers soak in the professional atmosphere. For Koppen, who took over the La Salle program earlier this year, it was more than just a field trip. Indeed, it was a full-circle moment. A Boston College product who became a Patriots staple, Koppen is now rooted in New England in more ways than one. He’s looking to bring his NFL toughness and experience to the next generation.
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Vrabel, on the other hand, comes back to New England with a mission of his own. Restoring a Patriots program that’s crying out for identity. Following a strong stint with the Tennessee Titans. In which he got to the AFC Championship Game and was awarded AP NFL Coach of the Year in 2021, Vrabel now inherits a roster that is missing vision. But if anybody understands how to construct from within, it’s Vrabel. His foundational belief has not wavered since his playing years: toughness, execution, and accountability win football games.
So when Mike Vrabel stared those high schoolers in the eye, it wasn’t all motivational. One Patriots icon handed the game plan down to the next. Now resonating through Rhode Island huddles and back into Gillette Stadium walls.
Vrabel remembers training camp brawls to teach newbies
Mike Vrabel doesn’t need to rely on clichés or borrowed words when he talks about toughness—he’s lived it. On Monday, the Patriots’ first-year head coach reflected on his rookie days as a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers, using a gruff training camp memory to deliver a pointed message to his new team: fight to earn your stripes, by all means—but not by swinging at people. At least not in training camp.
“I don’t want any of us doing that,” Vrabel said with a half-smile when asked about on-field brawls. Then, getting serious, he added, “Of course, we want to be able to practice the same way we have to play—which is physical, and within the rules.” The incident he was talking about dates back to 1997.

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NFL, American Football Herren, USA 2023: Titans vs Texans DEC 31 December 31, 2023: Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel during a game between the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans in Houston, TX. ..Trask Smith/CSM Credit Image: Trask Smith/Cal Media California USA EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xx ZUMA-20231231_zma_c04_136.jpg TraskxSmithx csmphotothree217195
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Can Mike Vrabel's old-school toughness revive the Patriots' lost identity and lead them to glory?
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When Vrabel got into a brawl during his first day of full-contact drills in Pittsburgh. That dust-up made such an impression that long-time linebacker Greg Lloyd, who hadn’t spoken to Vrabel once in camp, finally approached him. ”I’m exhausted after practice, and I see this shadow come over me,” Vrabel remembered. “In his deep voice, [Lloyd’s] like, ‘Yeah, the next time you want to come up underneath the face mask?’ And I was like, ‘You just now are going to talk to me?’ And he says, ‘Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t like a punk, and then I would talk to you.'” Vrabel smiled when asked whether he had won the battle.
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“I think I did,” he said. But even in triumph, the lesson learned wasn’t in throwing punches—it was in earning respect the right way. Now he is coaching the very locker room where he once played. And with that chip still firmly on his shoulder, Vrabel wants to instill a different kind of edge in his Patriots squad. The one built on discipline.
“If you throw a punch, you’re going to get kicked out of the game, which is going to cost the team,” he told reporters. That’s why he’s putting special emphasis on composure, especially for rookies trying to make an impression.
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Instead of fights, Vrabel wants players to express their passion by finishing plays, celebrating touchdowns, and pacing the sidelines with controlled intensity. From his rookie brawl to his Super Bowl titles, Vrabel’s career has consistently blended grit with intelligence. Now, he’s challenging this Patriots roster to do the same.
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Can Mike Vrabel's old-school toughness revive the Patriots' lost identity and lead them to glory?