New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has with no doubt, won new head coach Mike Vrabel’s confidence, but for Vrabel, it long preceded the 9-2 start.
“I came here because of the familiarity. I came here because of Drake,” Vrabel told the Amazon postgame show crew via NBC Sports Boston. “I knew what he would be, and it was important for me to come here. And that’s someone I wanted to coach. And so building a program is about that. It’s about putting great people around your really good players. That’s what Drake is for us.”
Maye carved up the New York Jets defense in a 27-14 win on Thursday, the team’s eighth-straight. It led to chants of MVP from the crowd, a fan base that once saw Patriots legend Tom Brady dominate the league for two decades and win three regular season MVPs.
Drake Maye Chimed In on Mike Vrabel’s Praise
Maye was part of that postgame conversation with Amazon, and he expressed his appreciation of Vrabel, who came in and re-tooled the Patriots after back-to-back 4-13 seasons. Vrabel once played for the Patriots during the Brady era, and Vrabel went on to coach the Tennessee Titans before his current position.
“It means the world. It goes both ways,” Maye said. “I can’t thank coach enough for what he’s done, what he’s gonna do for my career, for my life. He brings it every day. He said this, and he’ll text me later tonight about something I could have done better in the game. He’s constant, he’s awesome, and we love playing for him. I love playing for him.”
Maye has taken his game to another level in his second year with Vrabel at the helm in place of former head coach Jerod Mayo. As a rookie, Maye completed 66.6% of his passes for 2,276 yards for 15 touchdowns versus 10 interceptions. This season, Maye has completed 71.9% of his passes for 2,836 yards and 20 touchdowns versus five picks for a 113.2 rating.
Mike Vrabel on Drake Maye: ‘What We Expect’
Vrabel didn’t go for the MVP chant chatter when talking during the press conference, but he was clear that Maye is making the strides asked of him.
“I would say his performance in general has been what we expect. We have high expectations for Drake,” Vrabel told reporters afterward. “He has high expectations for himself. He’ll continue to improve. I know that he’ll stay humble through this all. Again, as far as the performance tonight, I thought it was, again, in first view, pretty good. It was good enough to win. Took care of the football.”
“We just have to continue to focus on the little things, operation, unforced errors throughout the offense,” Vrabel added. “The only thing that really stops us is us offensively. So continue to do that. Let them enjoy a win on a short week. Like I told them, I’m excited we’re 9-2. I’m excited that I don’t have to see them until Monday.”
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