New England Patriots
“You just can’t get bored doing things right.”
Mike Vrabel during the Patriots’ loss to the Seahawks. AP Photo/Stephen Brashear
September 14, 2026 | 10:40 AM
4 minutes to read
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was back for his weekly WEEI interview with “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday morning.
Vrabel discussed New England’s season-opening defeat to the Seahawks, the state of his team’s offense, and several other topics during the interview. His main takeaway from the loss in Seattle? Missed opportunities.
“You have to take opportunities when you get them,” he explained. “We had opportunities to turn the ball over on defense. We had opportunities to hit some more X-plays, or what could’ve been X-plays, and then certainly you just can’t turn the football over.”
Here are a few other notable moments from the interview:
Drake Maye’s decision making
The Patriots’ defeat against Seattle was characterized by a plethora of second half turnovers. Quarterback Drake Maye closed out his night with three interceptions on his final three drives.
Vrabel was questioned about his confidence level in Maye’s decision making, but said he wants his quarterback to stay aggressive and continue to pursue a winning mentality.
“We only can go by what we see, so we have to make better decisions. That’s what it was last week. I want us to believe that we’re going down there to win the football game. That’s what I want us to believe,” Vrabel said. “We converted two fourth downs, had a long yardage situation that we battled back from. If it’s not there, it’s not there. But I also want us to believe that if we’re going down there to win the football, not just to tie it up.”
He offered an interesting description of the Patriots’ pre-snap play-calling operation when asked if they actually warn Maye to simply “not throw a pick” in certain situations.
“It’s said,” replied Vrabel. “Josh talks to him. I talk to Josh, and tell him what we’re thinking as quickly as possible. This all has to happen pretty quick. I learned a long time ago, if I’m going to make suggestions on play calls, it has to be done pretty quickly because it’s just not fair to the play-caller.
“But situationally, we’ll try to be one play ahead and say, ‘Hey, let’s take a shot here and see if it’s there.’ Obviously we don’t want to lose any yards and put the ball in harm’s way, so it’s either us or nobody, and we still have a timeout. He tells him that. He communicates to him all the time, before the play.”
Thoughts on the game plan
Asked by WEEI producer Chris Curtis if he agreed that the Patriots’ Week 1 game plan “felt conservative,” Vrabel assumed ownership of the process.
“I try to say this as a head coach: I’m responsible for every call that goes in. That’s just what the nature of this thing is.”
He explained that each week requires different components of game-planning, and that it’s a collaborative process among the coaching staff.
Responding to the charge about its aggressiveness (or perceived lack thereof), Vrabel disputed the framing.
“I don’t look at things as conservative. I mean that’s what…we felt like was best against this defense,” he said. “We didn’t hit some things, and you have to be able to run the football against split-safety defense. That’s no secret. You don’t play split-safety defense to stop the run. You play it to not give up big plays.
“We tried to hit some shots downfield,” he added later, but reiterated that the Seahawks’ defense was designed to prevent it.
“You just can’t get bored doing things right. If it’s not there, it’s not there.”
The preseason debate
After Patriots starters (including Maye) did not play for the entirety of preseason, the move was criticized following the flat performance in the opening night defeat in Seattle.
Vrabel defended the choice, saying that his players would’ve only risked injury had they suited up in August games.
“Going out there against the Eagles’ backups — at home, for eight plays or 10 plays — wasn’t going to prepare us for the environment that we had on opening night,” Vrabel explained, referencing a preseason matchup with Philadelphia. He walked through the fact that his team may have gleaned more wisdom from the joint practices with the Eagles than the preseason game itself.
“The work that we did prior to that game did much better to prepare us that day than playing,” Vrabel added, pointing out that his team would not have experienced game-realistic conditions in terms of the opposing defense’s play-calling.
“The old results-based analytics is tough,” said Vrabel. “We have to make decisions. We have to be convicted in them, and we have to feel like we’re well-informed with the decisions that we’re making, and then go and believe in them, and make them work.”
A (brief) A.J. Brown segment
One of the outcomes from the disappointing opener was the high-ankle injury suffered by wide receiver A.J. Brown. The talented 29-year-old was placed on injured reserve, and will be out for at least four weeks.
Vrabel was queried about Brown’s status, interrupting the initial question when it was noted that he was being asked despite not being a doctor himself.
“No, but it did take me nine years to graduate from Ohio State,” Vrabel joked.
As for the update on Brown, he took a straightforward line.
“Well, I know it’ll be at least four [games], because that’s what the rules are on I.R.”
Hayden Bird
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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