Patriots HC Mike Vrabel Transcript 9/25
PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
September 25, 2026
Q: Can you update us on these guys?
MV: Quintayvious Hutchins will be out, Dre’Mont Jones will be out, Craig Woodson will be questionable and Eli Raridon will be questionable.
Q: Have you guys made a decision at right guard?
MV: Yeah, it’ll be Greg [Van Roten]. GVR.
Q: Any adjustments to your travel plans?
MV: Not as of now. But if that changes, we will have to be ready to go, knees bent, head on a swivel. But as of now, nope. I think the bus is leaving at 1:00 tomorrow.
Q: I know before the draft you had a chance to sit down with Travis Hunter a little bit during the combine. What was your assessment of him?
MV: We had him here on a visit, too. Great energy, extremely knowledgeable, as far as just talking football. I thought that was really cool. But there was a great energy to him, a huge personality. I think the time that we spent together went by quick. It wasn’t me checking my watch and wondering where was he going after this. It was a pretty easy conversation, just a great person, obviously very talented and an exceptional football player.
Q: How would you assess how he’s done so far in his year-plus in the league?
MV: Well, it’s not for me to evaluate him. We just have to be ready to go, know if he’s going to be covering out to the field, and if he’s in man coverage or if he’s in cloud or whatever they may want him to do. Or if he is on offense, we’ll certainly have to know where he’s at and how they’re trying to utilize him.
Q: I believe you interviewed Grant Udinski a couple of years ago. So, what did you learn about him?
MV: Well, a great teacher. Had a really cool conversation at length just about different ways to teach players, different modalities and what he believed in. We had a really good conversation and came away really impressed, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before he was an offensive coordinator, and I was somewhat right. He got hired in that hiring cycle. But just a great teacher, really knowledgeable, knew a lot about scheme. But I think what impressed me the most was his ability to figure out where the player was, how he needed to reach them and the different ways and the different techniques that he had.
Q: They’re doing some construction down there on the stadium. Have you got a feel for what, atmosphere wise, it’s like with the lesser capacity?
MV: I’m sure they’ll be excited. They’ve got a good football team. They had a excellent football team last year. So, however many people are there, I’m sure they’ll be cheering for the Jags. It sounded like they were into it against Cleveland, and they certainly got off to a good start and gave them something to cheer about. We’ll have to always be prepared for the environment and make sure that all our cadences are sound and ready to go.
Q: With Mack Hollins, what kind of leadership does he bring to the field each and every day?
MV: Well, I think one is just consistency. I think you know what you’re going to get from Mack every day. He’s in the weight room at the same time every day, he’s in the training room the same time every day. He’s a great teammate. Brings an energy, a spirit, takes a lot of reps, loves to practice. He’d be out there on a show team taking as many reps as we’d let him. But that’s just the type of person that he is. He’s got some versatility, cares about his job and what he can do to help the football team.
Q: Christian Gonzalez also was asked about his leadership this week and said he’s talking a little bit more, but he’s a guy who normally shows it more on the field. What do you see from him in particular?
MV: Again, I appreciate the fact that he’s making people around him better through communication, alerts and awareness. And I think you need that. Your best players have to be able to make the people around them better, and I think he’s done that.
Q: Have you seen Gabe [Jacas] react to having a bigger role this week in practice?
MV: I mean, I think the role was really about the same. Everybody’s preparing as a starter. I think the snap count’s however it comes out. I think he just continues to improve. He’s very coachable, he wants to do a great job, he wants to continue to improve. This is his third NFL game, and there’s going to be things that are new for him. But I think you could see things that we correct from one week to the next. I think that really shows up. That’s all you can ask for. Whatever you’re coaching, things that you want him to get fixed. He’s very conscientious about getting them fixed and that they translate to the next week.
Q: Bhayshul Tuten has been one of the most explosive backs in football over the past two weeks. I’m curious what stands out to you about his skill set?
MV: He’s just got great contact balance, but he’s fast. I think he stretches and cuts. I think he’s got excellent vision. I think he runs hard, runs behind his pads. But the speed, I don’t know if it surprises defenders, but they toss it on the edge and he’s around there pretty good, so the pursuit doesn’t really look like much. I think the speed probably’s the biggest factor.
Q: What have you seen from Jahlani Tavai on the Jags?
MV: Again, I’m happy for him. I really enjoyed coaching him, getting to know him, his family and everybody. So, he’s been a core special teams player for them. He’s been available to go in there and back up inside. So, he looks like he’s really contributing well on special teams.
Q: Coach, you guys brought in Benton Whitley this week. What did you like about him?
MV: Well, that he had played and had a really good workout. I think he’s in shape, he’s ready to go. I think he’s gotten off to a really good start here with practice, and we’ll continue to work with him. He’s a big body, showed some explosion, and like I said, had a really good workout the other day.
Q: Some of the decisions that you guys made in the offseason – wide receiver, bringing in [A.J.] Brown, [Romeo] Doubs, [Stefon] Diggs and [Kayshon] Boutte go out. On the offensive line, you change things up. It’s been a little bit of a rough start, but I assume that you made those decisions with the long term in mind?
MV: Well, of course. When you are looking at the roster, it’s looking at the vision for each player. And talking about the offensive line, we had a vision for Jared [Wilson] and what he was going to play and where he was going to be. And I thought, he did what I felt like was his best at guard. But ultimately, those are decisions that we have to always make, where you’re going to get the best out of each player. And then the other guys, Diggs was a free agent. Again, you have to weigh those every year and how we construct it. But we’re certainly always looking for sustained success, being able to do that and not just for six weeks or eight weeks. I think everything we do is trying to have a vision and then pivot from there. If somebody gets injured or something happens, we have to be willing to adjust and coach the next guys, and I think you’re going to see that here at outside linebacker this week.
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