New Patriots coach Mike Vrabel says he knew in 'my soul that this is the place I wanted to be'

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — When Mike Vrabel began his post-NFL playing career as an assistant coach at Ohio State in 2011, he had thoughts of one day returning to the New England Patriots. He also knew that if that was ever going to happen, he first needed to leave Foxborough. "I think it was important for me to go somewhere else, to start another coaching journey," Vrabel said. "The opportunity at some point probably presented itself to be here coaching. But I feel like it was important for me to forge my own path somewhere else." He did that. And now he's back where he's had his most success on the football field — this time charged with returning it to the championship glory he first experienced as a player. Vrabel was introduced as New England's 16th head coach on Monday, the first step in team owner Robert Kraft's latest attempt to make good on his promise to restore the six-time Super Bowl champion Patriots to contender status. "If all those experiences led me back here at the right time, at the right opportunity, then that was going to be what was meant be," Vrabel said. Vrabel's hiring ends a swift search process that followed the firing of Jerod Mayo last week that included interviews with former offensive coordinators Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton, and current Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Kraft said it was Vrabel's vision that stood out. "In the interview process Mike showed us that he had a deep understanding of our current team. And more importantly, he had a clear and focused strategy of how to get us back to a championship way," Kraft said. As a player familiar with the "Patriot Way" cultivated by Bill Belichick during his two-plus decade run in New England, Vrabel said he's borrowed from the former coaches and bosses that he learned him, such as John Cooper, Urban Meyer, Bill Cowher, Romeo Crennel and Belichick, to develop his own coaching philosophy. He returns to New England at age 49, with a track record that includes a 56-48 overall mark with Tennessee from 2018 to 2023, and an AFC championship game appearance in the 2019 season. But he also believes he's grown after a year away from coaching after being fired by the Titans following the 2023 season. Vrabel said his goal is to instill a new culture in New England built on winning, a competitive spirit and putting the team first. "I want to galvanize our football team. I want to galvanize this building," he said. That will start with constructing a coaching staff and roster that can move on from a 4-13 record in Mayo's one season as coach. Vrabel said no decisions have been made in that regard and that he's looking forward to working with current vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf. Kraft confirmed this week that Wolf is staying on staff, but hasn't specified what his role will be. As far as players, Vrabel said he wants to see the team's No. 4 pick in April's NFL draft and its more than $130 million in salary cap space be used to strengthen the protection around quarterback Drake Maye, and to acquire players to help "dictate the flow of the game offensively." "Everybody in my eyes is starting over and they will prove to us and to this team the impact that they'll make," Vrabel said. While it will take lots of work to get there, as he stood in the same room that he did 15 months ago when he was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame, Vrabel said he knew one thing for sure. "In the end it was clear to me and my family and my soul that this is the place I wanted to be," he said.