The official start of Mike Vrabel’s tenure as head coach and the ongoing development of second-year quarterback Drake Maye are the main storylines surrounding the New England Patriots heading into training camp.
Patriots defensive end Keion White raised some eyebrows when he said in June that he finds it “comforting to know that you have a hard-[expletive]” serving as head coach after the club went 4-13 under Jerod Mayo when Maye was a rookie. During a recent chat with Khari A. Thompson of Boston.com, Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones was asked about White’s comment.
“I don’t really have a problem with that, though, because I love constructive criticism,” Jones explained. “… I’ve always had coaches who told me the standard that we needed to be at. It’s coaching. I had a military dad, so my situation was a little different. Discipline was always instilled. I’m not saying Keion doesn’t have discipline or anything like that. I’m just saying that coaching is coaching to me. I listen to the message, not the tone.”
Numerous stories shared over the first half of 2025 detailed how Vrabel is attempting to shift the Patriots’ culture after Mayo controversially said last fall he felt he was coaching “a soft football team.” While Mayo was a first-year coach trying to replace a living legend in Bill Belichick, Vrabel is a one-time NFL Coach of the Year Award winner who guided the Tennessee Titans to a conference championship game appearance during his time with that organization.
Vrabel is also a Patriots Hall of Famer who earned three Super Bowl rings playing for Belichick from 2001-08.
“He’s a real-deal players’ coach,” Jones said about Vrabel. “He’s been in the league. He knows what it takes, and he’s been a part of great organizations. It’s been great for him, and I’m looking forward to the season.”
Part of Vrabel’s plan to turn the Patriots around involved bringing longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels back to the franchise to work with Maye. Jones indicated Maye took steps in the right direction throughout springtime workouts.
“His accuracy,” Jones said when asked how Maye has improved from where he was this past January. “He was already accurate before, but you can definitely tell going into year two that his confidence is really there. That’s a big thing when it comes down to being an NFL quarterback in general. Confidence is key. If you’re not confident, then most of the time it’s not going to go your way. His confidence and everything like that is definitely evolving, and I love to see it for sure.”
Per Pro Football Reference stats, Maye finished the 2024 regular season ranked 13th in the league among qualified players with a 66.6 percent completion percentage. He was 18th out of 36 passers with a 58.6 adjusted QBR, but his 88.1 passer rating was below the league average (92.3).
Perhaps a more confident Maye will become the leader Vrabel and Co. clearly want the 22-year-old to be by September. If nothing else, it certainly sounds like Maye has the support of his teammates this summer.
