Patriots HC Mike Vrabel Transcript 11/11
PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
November 11, 2025
Q: We noticed these blue workman shirts at everyone’s locker yesterday, and Hunter Henry blamed you. Did you do it?
MV: Yeah, I’m a gift giver. I like to give gifts. One thing I picked up – Bubba Ventrone did that in Cleveland and I thought that was a good looking shirt. I got one in brown last year. I thought it looked better in blue, so we got the guys some of those shirts. I thought it would be fun. I liked it. They liked it in Cleveland, so that’s kind of what it was.
Q: If yesterday was Thursday, today being Friday, are there any sort of game updates heading into Thursday night’s game?
MV: No, but we’ll know after practice. We’ll have a better idea. Again, I think that, somehow, the guys progress after the game, so just kind of see where they are. We’ll have a couple guys do a little bit more than maybe everybody else does just to try to be able to evaluate, see what we have for the game. Then some of the guys that we didn’t have available, we’ll have to see something from them to make a quick decision. Again, this is the all-hands-on-deck week, and prepare as a starter, so we’ll see where some of that shakes out.
Q: Mike, how important was it for you to increase the overall team’s speed, especially on defense?
MV: I think you just try to improve. Part of that is youth. Part of that is speed. Some of that skill, size. There’s a lot of things that you look at when you try to build a roster, a team. Try to get the best fit of players. We’ve been able to create some X plays offensively and defensively. It’s speed, length and explosiveness. Those are good traits to have for defensive football players.
Q: Mike, how did you guys determine to put Khyiris [Tonga] at fullback? What that a Tony Dews thing? You? Did he come to you guys?
MV: A group effort. I would say that Khyiris – and I appreciate all you guys that have done reports on him or highlight him any possible way – but that’s a guy that plays on three phases. Helped us win defensively, helped us win offensively, and then goes out there and stands in the way of three guys on the field goal protection unit. So, anything that you can do to highlight those players like him, like Tonga, on our football team, I’m all in favor for, so thank you for the ones that have done that. Just trying to look at the way that we are constructed. We need a little bigger size in there to try to push the pile a little bit and get some movement. I think he does a nice job at it, too. He’s got a good feel for it. Helped us in the short yardage in Atlanta and helped us last week. I know that if asked and called upon, he’ll be willing to help us again.
Q: Mike, Nick Saban used to, on his team, talk about not wanting them to drink the rat poison when they were getting hyped for being good. You guys have kind of avoided that, flown under the radar, but I think now there’s probably kegs of rat poison from the national media. As a player and/or coach, have you been able to sense when a team might be in for maybe a letdown, and then what can you do to avoid that?
MV: I think those are always hard. That’s human nature. We just have to stay consistent through our actions. Quick turnaround, these guys were locked in, prepared. There’s times where I want to pull the head coaching card out, stray away and run around here slamming everything, yelling. I really haven’t had to, where you try to make up, fabricate some conflict. Yesterday they responded. They did everything we asked them to do. Recovery, preparation, the walkthrough practices, being able to run and get some of the soreness out of them. They bought into that. Those are all really positive things. We never want to take the cheese and get into all that. Certainly, there’s a human element to it, but when things are going good, you have to be able to prepare for things when they’re not. I think that we try to do that, and we try to stay focused so that we’re not in any sort of panic mode.
Q: What do you think it is about the make up of the team that allows them to be locked in and doing all the things you want them to do?
MV: I think it’s the leadership. I think that the guys that we have here – I think it starts with the coaches being able to give them a clear message. I think what the expectations are, and I think the consistency, they’ve appreciated that. For example, trying to just move the time back to give them some more rest, but not shorten the meetings. I said, “Hey, I can give up 25 minutes on Thursday in the squad.” They all were like, “No, that’s an important meeting.” The leaders were like, “That’s an important meeting. We do the mental performance. We like the questions and all that.” I said, “OK, then we’ll figure out a way to make the schedule.” I just used that as an example that it wasn’t a set up question, it was me just trying to find some extra time to give them in the meetings, but also come in a little later. I appreciated that, that they thought that was an important part of their day, as well. I think it is just about the leadership.
Q: Did you get a sense of that early with this group?
MV: Well, so many new faces – I think it’s hard in the spring. Nobody’s really challenged or we’re just kind of learning each other. In training camp, you kind of just focus on the day, the hour, the practice and the installation. So, then I think that that grows. I think that that’s something that’s built, and you have to put time into that.
Q: Aaron Glenn and the Jets, what do you see in them?
MV: I see a young, excited team that basically said, “This is what we’re going to do for our future, and we’re not going to complain about it. We’re not going to mope about it. We’re going to play hard. We’re going to use our speed. We’re going to use Breece [Hall] and we’re going to use our return units that are sensational. We’re going to play tough defense.” And give them credit, a lot of teams or people could have been complaining and, “Hey, we got rid of one of the best defensive linemen in the league and a corner,” and everything else. That didn’t show up at all. I saw an energy. I saw excitement that jumped off the screen. So, this will be a challenge. I know they’ll be ready to go on the road, we’ll have to continue to prepare, and then ultimately play well.
Q: I was just going to ask, what’s it say to you when you have a locker room of guys that believe, whenever the time comes, that their teammate will make a play?
MV: Well, not only that – I think that there is confidence in each other, but also the excitement that they have when somebody else does make a play. I think that that’s really the sense of your character, is can you be excited for somebody else when they’re out there making a play? And whether that’s a receiver that’s excited for another receiver, that’s a defensive lineman that’s excited for a defensive lineman when they get a sack. Just watching the end of our game and people that I care about – people that I love and trust – they send me things that they see and you get the whole sideline of offensive players that are cheering, up and into the game when it’s fourth down or we get a stop. Those are things that are important to me that I showed the team that we can’t lose sight of.
Q: In light of the Jets being this team that’s so committed to the run, how did you feel the defense did from an execution and communication standpoint against the run last week?
MV: I appreciate the question, but that’s last week. We’ll have a huge challenge this week, and whether it’s their scheme runs with the quarterback, whether it’s Breece Hall, whether it’s the under center, the gun runs, the pull schemes, the perimeter runs. So, that’s all that’s going to matter this week, is how we do those, and whatever scheme runs that they have coming up that we’ll have to prepare for and tackle. It’s a game-to-game process in this league, whether statistically you’re one or 32nd.
Q: K’Lavon Chaisson is somebody who’s been showing up this entire season. I think maybe wasn’t on everybody’s radar when you guys brought him in as a free agent. What did you see when you first signed him compared to who he’s grown as this season with this team?
MV: He was on our radar because we were targeting some players defensively. Smitty [Mike Smith] came back with his review, I kind of came back with mine and I was like, “Alright, he plays hard, he’s got some speed and it looks like he tries to finish.” And that’s what jumped off the screen, was the effort and the speed. And from the get-go, I think the biggest thing that we loved was his willingness to be on the punt team. He wanted to be on the punt team, and that’s a huge unit to be on. It’s a lot of trust that’s involved with that, that’s something that he quickly wanted to do and it was important to him. So, that meant a lot. I think he’s just taking advantage of opportunities. I love working with him. He cares and I’m excited that he can help us.
Q: He plays a lot of snaps and Harold [Landry III] plays a lot of snaps at that position. Elijah [Ponder] had the big sack at the end of the game the other day. Is he somebody you could see maybe being more part of the rotation as the season goes on here?
MV: Yeah, I mean, I think we just have to be conscious of the play time, the effect that it has, where these guys are physically and making sure that we’re working people in there that earned the right to be in there. We want a rotation and to play a certain way, so we’ll keep working guys in that we can.
Q: Mike, follow up on the Tonga play on the offensive side of the ball. Just in general, when you see those position changes, is that something that you see from the player on the practice field, or do you have some guys in your mind that you want to test and see if that player has the potential to do that?
MV: I think it’s probably a vision. I think you’re like, “Who can do this?” You go through, you end up with a couple of names and then it’s process of elimination. So, I think it’s vision and then just watching the skill set, maybe how they play. It’s impressive – just on him real quick – just how quickly he gets out of his stance. He’s been able to get out in front of the running back. Sometimes fullbacks are a little slower, they’re out of phase with the runner and the runners run up their heels. So, you just try to look, be creative and see where guys can help you.
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