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Vrabel also joked about Titans fans who showed him support. Speaking to WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” a day after the Patriots defeated the Titans 31-13, Mike Vrabel credited his players for pushing through the circumstances as the former Tennessee coach made a triumphant return to his old stomping grounds. “There was a lot to that week, and I think our guys handled it really well,” Vrabel said. He coached Tennessee from 2018-2023, but was fired in Jan. 2024. New England trailed 10-3 in the first quarter, but eventually took the game over with a combined 28 points in the second and third quarters. “We just have to do a better job early on of settling in quickly and being aggressive, and having a play style no matter what the call is [that’s] about finishing drives,” he said of New England’s offense. “Defensively, [it’s] about being able to answer,” he added. “These are plays that they worked on. These are game-plan plays, trick plays that they’ve been working on.” Vrabel, a former linebacker, said that the defense has to be better at breaking up what opposing offenses are trying to do. “You have to have a little disruption,” he noted of New England’s defensive front. “You can’t make it look like it’s their Friday move-the-field practice. We’ll have to do a better job of that, of trying to disrupt their timing and flow early on.” Of course, the return to Nissan Stadium for the ex-Titans coach was a highly anticipated moment (no matter how much Vrabel tried to downplay it in the pregame). Returning to Tennessee with a first place football team — contrasted with the Titans’ one-win circumstances so far in 2025 — inevitably led to local fans showing up with pro-Vrabel signage. Signs apologizing to Vrabel on behalf of Titans fans for being fired were spotted. In response to one fan’s particularly graphic sign (referencing the great lengths the fan was willing to go to in order to have Vrabel return as coach of the Titans), the now-Patriots head coach had a joking response. “That was my cousin,” Vrabel deadpanned. On a more serious note, he elaborated on his feelings returning to the place he called home for six seasons. “I saw a lot of friends,” Vrabel said. “It was good to go back there,” he added of the Titans return. “The people that I really enjoyed seeing were the ones in the support staff, and the people that have been there for a while, that were there with us, who I’d seen a lot of. So it was just good to see their faces.” After the win, he was given the game ball by his up-and-coming quarterback, Drake Maye. “I appreciate it,” Vrabel said of Maye handing him the game ball. “I’m happy for these guys. I’m happy that they can see success, they can feel it, and they’re excited. A lot of great personal achievements, and most importantly the team achievement.” A week after struggling to run the ball against the Saints, New England had much more success against the Titans. The Patriots finished Sunday with a combined 175 rushing yards. Of that total, Rhamondre Stevenson accounted for 88 yards (via 18 carries). Having persevered with Stevenson earlier in the season when consistent fumbling seemed to necessitate his benching, Vrabel addressed the usage of the depth chart. “All our backs are going to play,” he said. “TreVeyon [Henderson’s] going to have a role, Terrell [Jennings’] going to have a role, and Rhamondre. “He’s a very good pass protector,” Vrabel said of Stevenson. “There’s the whole body of work. We’ve got to take care of the football. But he also did a lot of really good things early in the season against Miami. There will be a time when they’re calling for my job, and they’re calling for everybody’s job. That’s just how this business works. I didn’t want to jerk the wheel. “He does a lot of things without the football,” Vrabel said of Stevenson, “and then when he does have the football — when he takes care of it, and he’s decisive — he’ been good.” Speaking to the notion of authenticity, Vrabel (himself a former player) gave perspective on how he tries to be perceived as a head coach. “I think that that’s what players respect,” he said of treating players with honesty. “I think that they may not always like what you hear, but they don’t want to be bulls—ed. They want the truth.” When he was reminded that he’d just sworn on radio (and that it would potentially mean paying a “swear jar” tip), Vrabel had another joke. “See Stretch,” he said (a reference to one of his key assistants, team vice president of operations and strategy John Streicher). On the subject of Maye, his efficient quarterback, Vrabel praised the 23-year-old’s precision passing. “He’s very accurate from different platforms, whether that’s in the pocket, out of the pocket. There’s really good accuracy,” Vrabel said of Maye. “I think that there’s a lot of confidence. He’s just an athletic quarterback, by that I just mean that there are different things that he does. It doesn’t have to be so rigid. “There a lot of other movements to him that make him unique, but the accuracy has certainly been very good.” Asked about Maye’s recent appearance on the sidelines of a Catholic Memorial-Xaverian high school football game, the Patriots’ coach added some new information about the circumstances. “Yeah, and there were other [Patriots] players there too. They just didn’t have field access or the police escort,” Vrabel joked. The Patriots will return to Gillette Stadium on Sunday after a three-week road trip, and play the Browns at 1 p.m.
