Mike Vrabel is neither wasting time nor playing around after back-to-back days of coaching announcements. The New England Patriots have their new big three coaches—Mike Vrabel at HC, Josh McDaniels at OC, and former Lions DL coach Terrell Williams.

Out With The New, In With The Old

Last year, this Patriots staff was headlined with and then reinforced by inexperience at practically every level. Then, fans were surprised at how unorganized the organization was under Mayo’s brief tenure. The new, younger coaches were all put in a role for the first time. It just wasn’t what this team needed.

Now, Vrabel comes in with years of HC experience and hires McDaniels (14 years of play-calling knowledge) to run the offense but not be “head coach offense,” finally accumulating in the Terrell Williams hire. Williams has been one of the better defensive positional coaches for over 10 years and has earned Vrabel’s respect during his time with him on the Titans.

What People Have To Say About New Patriots DC

Dan Campbell recently gushed about Williams, calling him one of the best DL coaches in the league and a perfect fit for his staff. This excites me as a Patriots fan, and this team needs more of that Detroit energy and passion. New England is the region of champions. Having the Pats be flat week in and week out for the past three + years is entirely unacceptable.

The other part of that quote is how Campbell said Williams can develop players. That is a significant piece of the puzzle, especially for a player like Keion White, who took a step back last year, Marcus Jones, or maybe even Christain Gonzalez. These players need to grow and Williams seems like a great person to do that.

Lazar makes an interesting point here, noting Williams is a first-time play-caller, which worries me a little bit, but having Vrabel there to reinforce him is where the difference is from last year. As far as running more four-down fronts, that’s something I think they could lean into if they bring in the right pieces to propel the players they currently have.

What To Expect From The Patriots Offseason

Looking through the most recent connections of the top five guys in the organization, Mike Vrabel (TEN & CLE), McDaniels (Raiders), Williams (Lions), Jeremy Springer (SP/Ts Rams), Ryan Cowden (Giants). I would expect this group to try to find some players they have worked with before and bring them into New England to help set the culture.

Some Free Agents from these teams are Jedrick Wills T CLE, Elijah Moore WR CLE, Dan Skipper T DET, Ifeatu Melifonwu DB DET, Divine Deablo LB LV, Robert Spillane LB LV, Darius Slayton WR NYG, Azeez Ojulari DE NYG, Sebastian Joesph DT TEN, Daniel Brunskill T TEN.

There are also rumors swirling about making a trade for a player from Mike Vrabel’s past. AJ Brown is probably impossible to pry from Philly, but if there is a chance, Cowden and Vrabel must try and get it done. He would be the highlight of this offense and not a second fiddle to anyone.

End Of My Patriots Rant

I feel a million times better than I did to close the season; this team finally feels like it has a direction and is on its way to establishing an identity. That has to happen first; if they can have a good free agent class mixed in with a great draft, this team should be back in the hunt, making the rest of the league nervous by the end of this year.