Back in the day, when Bill Belichick led the Patriots, he would dedicate Fridays as goal-line day. The team would gather and run a series of plays just outside the end zone under offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia’s watchful eyes. But this one particular week in 2001, they decided to switch things up, and by that, we mean linebacker Mike Vrabel was to get some reps as a tight end. 

It was an experiment that HC and OC Charlie Weis decided to act on after watching him run routes with Drew Bledsoe for weeks, and maybe thought, why not after all? It was an experiment that, however, failed initially. 

Week 2 had come and passed. Tom Brady was to take over from an injured Bledsoe, only Brady here wasn’t too keen on Vrabel to begin with. Vrabel, on the other hand, was too excited… so much so that, during the first practice where he was utilized as a TE, he would break free into the end zone, waving his hands at the signal-caller, and yelling at the top of his voice, “Tom! Tom! Tom!” An annoyed Brady would later clarify: he was going to throw it to “whoever the (expletive) I want.” From there to ultimately building towards what was an improbable feat, it worked. As per Scarnecchia’s confession, they could go into a game with two tight ends, and Vrabel would easily become their third in situations that demanded the need for multiple TEs: “The guy catches everything.”

So, who better than ‘Scar’, who coached the Patriots for 34 years, to talk about Mike Vrabel’s love for the game? He was on SiriusXM NFL Radio when he was asked, “What are the Patriots getting in Mike Vrabel?” In response, Scarnecchia painted a glowing portrait of the 49-year-old who has now been appointed as Pats’ HC since the start of this year.

“He loved football. He loves being out there. He loves everything about the game. He loves the competitiveness, and believe me, he had a lot of fun with it too. No one was safe. No coach, even the head coach, you know, Mike, would say whatever he wanted to say, and it was all done in fun. He’d say something. He knew it would drive me crazy. In OTAs, we’re in shorts, and they’re holding online stunts, and I would just yell at him, and he’d just smile and laugh. That was his way of having fun.

“But I will say this: I’ve seen him coach because we had joint practices with them when he was a linebacker at Tennessee and when he was the head coach. This guy is all in, man. He’s fully invested. He knows the game. They know he knows the game, and he is one of those guys that will put on one of those protective vests and pass-rush Will Campbell about 20 times… and do every kind of move he has, and say, ‘Okay—we’re signing this guy.’ That’s what I heard. I honestly don’t know. But it wouldn’t surprise me if he did it because that’s Mike.”

Well, it really wouldn’t be surprising. After all, back in the day when it was established that Vrabel would moonlight on the offense, his responsibilities doubled. He had to take some time away from the defense and attend the offensive meetings, and the former player would bounce between offense and defense on Friday’s goal-line practice, which meant that Scarnecchia would often be left waiting for Vrabel to show up. 

But Vrabel is the Patriots’ HC today, and owner Robert Kraft wants a change after two consecutive 4-13 seasons. That too, immediately: “The last two years were the worst years of my 31 years of ownership. We have to change that. 

“We have a coach in Mike Vrabel who’s really connected with the players, who’s doing great work. We have a young quarterback and a lot of great veterans, a great draft class. 

“We’re going to have fun this year, I promise.” He believes his team can get back over .500 and into the playoffs, which would be the first time since 2021. The key pieces are aligning: Drake Maye’s promising rookie flashes (15 TDs, 66.6% completion), the Stefon Diggs gamble, a defensive spending spree ($234.5 million on Milton Williams, Carlton Davis, Harold Landry, Robert Spillane), and the draft haul headlined by OT Will Campbell. And dare I say, Vrabel’s infectious love for the grind is clearing the way for something Robert Kraft hasn’t felt in years.

Hope.