New England Patriots
“Those things are supposed to be held in strict confidence, confidentiality, so I’m not going to comment.”
Mike Vrabel reportedly paid a steep price due to his criticism of officials. AP Photo/Charles Krupa
Mike Vrabel reportedly paid a steep price after he called out NFL officiating earlier this season.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Vrabel — along with Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni and the Jets’ Aaron Glenn — was fined $250,000 for “conduct toward officials.” Breer added that the fine is held in abeyance, meaning it could be forgiven with “good behavior.”
Speaking to reporters in Foxborough on Monday, Vrabel stressed that he was not allowed to comment on the fine, while also expressing disappointment that details of it were reported.
“I don’t have any comment. Those things are supposed to be held in strict confidence, confidentiality, so I’m not going to comment,” Vrabel said. “I’m not gonna comment. I can’t. Not supposed to. I can’t comment. I think it’s best just to talk to the league. They seem to have plenty to say already about it.”
During New England’s Week 4 win over the Bills, Vrabel was flagged for a 5-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after yelling at the refs following a holding call against Marcus Jones.
After that win in Buffalo, Vrabel didn’t mince words when asked about the refs.
“I told him that’s a terrible f-ing call, and I’ve said that about 87 times since I’ve been a head coach,” Vrabel said. “It was nothing derogatory. You’d have to ask him, I think he was a little sensitive. Once I get the word from upstairs that it wasn’t what we felt like was a good call, which I’m going to trust [Patriots VP of football operations and strategy John Streicher] with my life. I probably shouldn’t have swore, but I can tell you in my history of being on the sidelines as a head coach, I’ve said that.”
On Monday, Vrabel was a bit more diplomatic about the challenges that come with officiating an NFL game. New England has been knocked for 55 penalties so far this season — the sixth most in the NFL.
“There’s going to be bad calls by coaches, there’s going to be bad plays by players, and then once in a while, an official’s going to miss one. So, again, how we respond to those things is critical,” Vrabel said. “So, I enjoy when they have conversations with me and can explain exactly what it is that they saw, or they follow up with another official, and as long as I get an explanation about what they saw, then I have to be OK with that.
“And I would say for the most part, I am. And I like the ones that are willing to communicate and say, ‘Hey, this is what I saw.’ They did it and they’re decisive about it and they’re confident. We can always go back and second-guess, but it’s not an easy job and I think they do really good.”
Vrabel opted for a bit of a lighter tone during his weekly interview on WEEI Monday morning when asked if he was going to change his interactions with officials, especially in the wake of such a hefty fine.
“I just tell them everything’s a great call,” Vrabel said. “I go, ‘Man, I thought you were going to miss that one, but you nailed it.’ Every time I go to cuss at them I’m like, ‘Ugh, we’ve got Christmas, we’ve got holidays, we’ve got kids, and we’ve got weddings coming up.’ ”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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