Mike Vrabel: The Missing Piece of the Patriots’ Puzzle: Drake Maye Explains How He’ll Bring What Jerod Mayo Couldn’t

New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez raised eyebrows when he said during a Super Bowl week appearance on the “Pro Football Talk Live” program that he thought “the building got a little more lax” under first-year head coach Jerod Mayo and that new head coach Mike Vrabel will bring the so-called “Patriot Way” back to the organization.

While speaking with NBC Sports Boston on Radio Row in New Orleans, New England quarterback and 2024 first-round draft pick Drake Maye somewhat echoed Gonzalez’s take.

“You want to be coached hard,” Maye said, as shared by Nick O’Malley of MassLive. “We’re playing at the highest level, but we still need to be coached hard. …We probably need that, a little hard coaching.”

Multiple Patriots players mentioned last offseason after team owner Robert Kraft made the transition from living legend Bill Belichick to Mayo that the atmosphere in the team building was more “fun” and was filled with a “new energy and new life.” However, New England then fell to 1-6 this past fall before Mayo publicly said he felt he was coaching a “soft” team.

In the end, a Patriots roster that lacked talent on both sides of the ball finished Week 18 with a record of 4-13 before Kraft showed Mayo the door. It’s widely believed one reason Kraft chose Vrabel as Mayo’s replacement is because the Patriots Hall of Famer will improve the club’s culture from where it was throughout much of the 2024 season.

“We’re really excited about coach Vrabel,” Maye added during the interview. “He’s played in New England, knows what it’s like to have success for the Patriots and for that team, and been a head coach somewhere else. He’s kinda been out of the system and seen different things. Excited to get back going, and I think he’s really excited. So I think the guys are gonna be pumped up.”

Meanwhile, Vrabel bringing longtime New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels back to the organization could be the offseason move that has the most direct impact on Maye’s development. Much has been made about how Maye will adapt to McDaniels’ terminology, but the 22-year-old doesn’t seem concerned.

“I think I’m a bright kid,” Maye said, per Chris Mason of MassLive. “I don’t think it’ll be too challenging. …Fortunately, you’ve got the whole library from years ago, back when the greatest to ever do it did it in the same offense. What a guy to watch film on, and coach McDaniels has been one of the best in the business as a coordinator. Looking forward to running the offense that Tom Brady did.”