He has reinvigorated a struggling franchise with a level of culture-building at which many franchises only dream, and Vrabel has demonstrated joy so widely that his coaches view it as part of his identity.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Ask quarterback Drake Maye or center Garrett Bradbury or outside linebacker Harold Landry III, and they remember quickly.
The threat of airing dirty laundry has that effect on people.
And when New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel issued the threat during training camp, he wasn’t threatening to air his players’ proverbial dirty laundry. He was warning them about their literal laundry. Particularly, their washcloths.
The warning surfaced in response to players leaving dirty washcloths on the locker room floors. A bin to retrieve clean wash cloths rested beside a bin to deposit dirty ones. Not every Patriots player was availing himself of the second.
“I think 99% of people would’ve been like, ‘Hey guys, can you guys pick up your washcloths and put 'em in the bin?’” Bradbury told Yahoo Sports.
But Vrabel, who earned his second Coach of the Year recognition on Thursday night, is not 99% of people.
Nor does he hold his players to the standards of the 99%.
So Vrabel told players they had two options. The first: Throw their wash cloths in the dirty laundry bin, and the equipment staff would wash them as previously expected. The second: Continue leaving them on the floor, and Vrabel would instruct the staff not to wash them — and instead to simply return dry, unlaundered washcloths back in the bin with the clean ones. Behold, showers with your teammates’ dirty washcloths.
“I don’t blame him,” Maye said Thursday of Vrabel’s instructions. “It’s probably a little bit TMI [too much information], but little things like that. Picking up after yourself, knowing that somebody has to pick up after you.”
After Vrabel’s announcement, the Patriots’ dirty washcloths magically began finding their ways into the dirty washcloth bin. DirtyWashclothGate was averted. But the realization of the ample ways staff have helped the Patriots in their Super Bowl-bound season lingers. Vrabel insists his players understand, remember and acknowledge that.
“In our line of work, you forget how privileged you are and how much is done for you,” quarterback Josh Dobbs told Yahoo Sports. “And some guys … don't know that when you throw something on the ground, someone else got to come pick that up. They think it just automatically happens overnight. And so it's the realistic visualization of that. It's like, ‘Yo, you throw that on the ground — the guy that's catching the footballs at practice, he's the one who has to pick it up and then wash it.’ Just nasty.
“So take care of him, he'll take care of you.”
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In his first year at the helm of the franchise he once played eight seasons for, Vrabel has reinvigorated the AFC champion Patriots with the aggressiveness and physicality his defenses have long embodied. He has reinvigorated a struggling franchise with a level of culture-building at which many franchises only dream, and Vrabel has demonstrated joy so widely that his coaches view it as part of his identity.
But beyond the scheme, the on-field accountability and the one-of-the-guys nature that has sent Vrabel diving headfirst into everything from on-field scuffles to postgame hugs, Vrabel has also emphasized a value that most coaches may want but do not preach with Vrabel’s intention nor his repetition.
Vrabel tells his players: “We’re gonna treat you how you treat the team.”
Treating the team right, he tells them eternally, does not only mean respecting their fellow players and coaches. Vrabel demands his players respect cafeteria workers, logistics coordinators, maintenance staff and more with the exact same caliber of respect.
“He wants us not to only be elite on the field as players, but he wants us to be elite as people as well,” right tackle Morgan Moses told Yahoo Sports.
Added Landry: “He’s not a fan of anybody thinking they’re bigger than the team.”
‘When he talks about identity, he is the identity’
If Patriots veterans aren’t bigger than the team, then their rookies sure as heck aren’t either.
Bradbury had an idea on how to send that message in the offensive line room. Upon hearing the idea, Vrabel escalated it.
Bradbury signed with the Patriots last March after six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. He treasured the Vikings’ tradition dictating rookie offensive linemen decorate meeting rooms. Bradbury remembers spending “way too much money” on Halloween inflatables and Thanksgiving bales of hay during his 2019 rookie year. He wanted to continue the tradition in Foxborough. To ensure all were on board, Bradbury “mentioned it to Vrabs,” he said, “because you got to OK things through the channels.”
The Patriots coach was more than just OK with the request.
“Vrabs’ response was, ‘Then all rookies are going to decorate,’” Bradbury said.
Vrabel entrusted left tackle Will Campbell, the Patriots’ 2025 pick at fourth overall, for relaying the message to his draft class. And if rookies didn’t buy and hang the decorations themselves … ?
“He has a deadline for them and we have some people within the building that help us,” outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson told Yahoo Sports. “If the rookies don't do it themselves, they have to pay them to help them decorate the room.”
Costs piled as the Patriots rookies purchased Halloween decorations in October and Thanksgiving decorations in November. Christmas and winter holiday cheer decked the halls in December, before Bradbury realized: He hadn’t played long enough before to warrant decorating for January and February.
The Patriots combined January’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day and February’s Black History Month, rookies displaying a mix of King cutouts, historical facts and posters enhancing the position group meeting rooms.
Some players said the decorations brought cheer and broke the monotony during a long season. Others realized Vrabel’s deeper message in telling the rookies they must pay the facility staff if they don’t accomplish the task themselves.
“Obviously the staff members that help us out, man, finding ways to give them love while also being involved with the creativity within the building,” Chaisson said. “Having some ownership in it.”
Moses, who’s played for seven head coaches (including one interim) across 12 NFL seasons, said Vrabel’s emphasis on respecting staff is not the NFL norm. In a fast-paced, high-stress environment, some messages fade into the background. Moses has seen that.
“100%, 100%,” he said. “I don't know if that's how it was when he was coached or just that's the makeup of the person who he is. But I think all of it – when he talks about identity, he is the identity. He preaches that every day.
“We get to see it from our own eyes, every day walking and talking.”
In biggest game, demand for respect doesn’t change
As the Patriots readied for Super Bowl LX week in the Bay Area, Vrabel understood the breadth of logistical considerations. So he told players: I don’t care if you’re about to play in the Super Bowl; you still need your credentials visible. Believing they were beyond security protocols was not only inaccurate, Vrabel told the team, but also disrespectful to the staff trying to keep them safe.
“I know a lot of us probably have short tempers and saying, ‘Hey, we play on the team, why do we need a badge around here?’” Maye said. “But in one of the first meetings, he said, ‘Hey, we should have no problems with showing our badges. Everybody's got to do it.’ Just little things like that, that go a long way of treating other people right. Coach Vrabel is the best at it.”
With meeting room reservations and family accommodations, the same reminder applied.
“He wanted to make sure that everybody knew that, no matter what, it isn't going to be a 100% perfect, but we're going to treat everybody involved in logistics and everybody in media with respect,” Landry said. “Because everybody has a job to do.”
Part of the Patriots’ job, per their coach’s directive, is to respect the jobs of others.
The list of values that spill over from the egalitarian treatment is long. Humility evolves into accountability which evolves into gratitude and soon habit. Vrabel views molding a locker room mostly in their 20s as part of his job.
He does not expect perfection. But he does expect awareness.
“We all have our moments of frustration,” Vrabel said. “We all have our moments of being upset, and that's fine. It's just making sure that we don't take those out on the people around the building. So, we always talk about that. We always talk about having conversations, being able to ask questions, have meetings and find out where everybody stands. So, the respect that I ask them to show the equipment staff, the training staff, the interns, the cafeteria workers?
“Those people are there well before the players are there, and they're there well after the players are there to make sure that the players have everything they need.”
Staff members have helped the Patriots’ season last well after 30 of their counterparts were eliminated.
So the Patriots know the consequences if they don’t conduct themselves with respect, and they know that if they follow Vrabel’s guidelines he will trust them and empower them.
Take the postgame locker room when the Patriots beat the Broncos in the AFC championship to advance to the Super Bowl. Vrabel told his players: No curfew. But if you’re not on the bus to leave by 8 a.m., you’re not playing in the Super Bowl.
“He's got a very, very unique blend of the ability to hold everybody accountable to a high standard, and – you know he cares about you as a human being,” offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. “Every minute of every day, and that's just ... that's a rare trait, and he can do both at the same time, all the time.
“It's why he's who he is. That's why we're where we're at.”
Category: General Sports
