FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Bill Belichick already has said more positive things about Mike Vrabel in his one day as the New England Patriots coach than Belichick did about Jerod Mayo in a full year.
Vrabel was officially introduced as the Patriots coach Monday at Gillette Stadium. He was hired Sunday morning.
“I love Mike. I love everything that he stands for as a football coach, and I have a lot of respect for him,” Belichick said Monday on the “Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN. “I’m sure he’ll do a great job.”
Belichick raved about Vrabel’s work ethic over the years during Belichick’s news conferences as Patriots coach.
Vrabel’s Tennessee Titans famously beat Belichick in Tom Brady’s last game in a Patriots uniform during the 2019 postseason.
“Certainly his entry in coaching was no surprise to anyone that knew him,” Belichick said. “Coached him at New England. I talked to him when he was at Ohio State and then when he went to the Texans and then, of course, at Tennessee. We practiced against them.
“I’ve stayed in very close contact with Mike. So I have a ton of respect for Mike. I think he does a great job. He prepares his teams well, they’re very good in situational football, they’re tough, they’re competitive, they’re smart — just like he was as a player.
“I think teams that he’s coached and the positions he’s coached follow very much in his playing style and his preparation style.”
Vrabel hinted during his introductory news conference that he could have joined Belichick’s staff but said he wanted to forge his own path.
When asked about the significance of following in Belichick’s footsteps as Patriots coach, he said it’s unique but “there’s things that are interesting and there’s things that are important. I think me having played for Bill is interesting. I just don’t know if it’s important to helping our players.”