New England Patriots
“Will’s 22 years old. He’s our left tackle.”
Mike Vrabel during the Patriots’ end-of-season press conference following Super Bowl LX. John Tlumacki/Boston Globe
February 10, 2026 | 3:53 PM
3 minutes to read
Following his team’s run to Super Bowl LX — and subsequent 29-13 defeat to the Seahawks — Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel summarized his message to the players prior to the offseason during a Tuesday press conference.
“I just talked about a disappointing finish to a phenomenal, exciting, enjoyable year,” Vrabel explained. “It’s unfortunate. Talked to them about the foundation I think that we’ve built.
“Much like a home, you build a home and then run out of things to do, so you continue to add on to it, you finish the basement, you make additions to it, and we’ll try to do that to this football team,” he added. “I like the foundation of it, and we’ll try to improve on it.”
Though he continually rejected any characterization of his “expectations” for the team during the 2025 season, Vrabel — with the book closed on his first year in charge of the Patriots — acknowledged that they “probably exceeded expectations.”
“The biggest thing is I think we learned how to win,” he said. “I think you have to learn how to win in this league. You have to understand sometimes they’re pretty, sometimes they’re not. Sometimes you have to come from behind. Sometimes you have to make a stop late defensively. Sometimes you have to make a kick. And sometimes they’re easier games where things are going right, you’re returning punts for touchdowns and defensive touchdowns, and everybody’s having a big pizza party.
“But we learned how to win in different ways,” he concluded, “and I think that that’s important in this league.”
New England finished 14-3 as AFC East champions after back-to-back 4-13 seasons, leading to Vrabel being named the 2025 NFL Coach of the Year.
Still, the Super Bowl loss raised questions about various components of the team. The most prominent example was left tackle Will Campbell, who struggled against a relentless Seahawks pass rush.
Vrabel was questioned about if he still viewed Campbell as a tackle as opposed to certain pre-draft assessments from a year ago that viewed the 2025 fourth overall pick as an offensive guard instead.
“When you sign up to play left tackle, you sign up to play corner, you sign up to play quarterback, you sign up to be head coach, you get judged. You get scrutinized,” Vrabel explained. “Will’s 22 years old. He’s our left tackle. He’ll get better. He’ll get stronger. Moments where he played well. Moments where he blocked the guy. There are plays he’d like to have back.
“We’re not moving Will to guard or center or to tight end or anywhere else.”
On a more enjoyable note, Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams — who battled prostate cancer during the season and was largely absent from the team until the Super Bowl — is set to make his return in 2026. The only potential complication with the otherwise happy story is the future role of inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr, who largely filled the defensive coordinator void when Williams was out.
“There will be a lot of things that we’ll have to work through there,” said Vrabel of the matter. “[Terrell’s] healthy and been given a release to be back and be back at work.
“I’ll work through all those things in the next couple days, weeks, however long those decisions may take.”
Asked if he’s rewatched the Super Bowl, Vrabel replied that he has. Does he have any regrets?
“I think that’s the same case in every game. I wish we would have blocked this guy, I wish they wouldn’t have moved, I wish we would have called a different coverage for what they did. I wish, I wish, I wish, but it doesn’t go that way,” he said. “None of us did enough to put ourselves in a position to win the game early on, I think, however that went.”
The Patriots now head into the offseason equipped with both cap space and an array of draft picks. The 2026 league year officially begins (along with free agency) on March 11 at 4 p.m.
As he closed, Vrabel also thanked the media and beat reporters for their coverage.
“I appreciate you guys,” he said. “I don’t know how many people that I got to see after the game, but I want to thank you. Thank you for covering us. Thank you for the care that you gave a lot of these stories. And again, we fully understand that we’re judged, we are questioned. That’s your job, that’s what you guys are here for. But I appreciate the respect that you gave us, gave me, gave our team, gave our organization.”
Hayden Bird is a sports staff writer for Boston.com, where he has worked since 2016. He covers all things sports in New England.
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