Patriots ‘disappointed, not discouraged’ by Super Bowl loss, says Mike Vrabel

A magical year for Mike Vrabel’s New England Patriots came to an end in Santa Clara on Sunday night with a 29-13 loss in Super Bowl LX.

For Vrabel, the message to his team afterwards was simple.

“I’m proud of everything they did. I’m disappointed, just like they are,” he said. “I reminded them that we’re 307 days in to what hopefully is a long and successful relationship and program. It’s okay to be disappointed. We have to be disappointed and upset together. I tell them what I always do: I tell them I’m appreciative, I’m thankful, I’m grateful I get to coach them.”

Vrabel led the Patriots to a remarkable turnaround in his first season in charge. After back-to-back four win campaigns, New England won 14 regular season games and powered through the playoffs to reach the Super Bowl.

There were few low points throughout the year, which made Sunday’s nights defeat sting even more. But as the head coach explained roughly one year ago during his introductory press conference, a team’s culture is revealed most clearly in in its lowest moments.

The team will now look to turn that disappointment into motivation.

“Part of our identity is not being a front runner,” Vrabel said. “Just like every year someone is going to lose this game. We have to remember what it feels like and make sure it’s not repeatable.”

Inside the locker room, the prevailing belief was that this young team will be back on this stage sooner rather than later. Much of that optimism centers on 23-year-old quarterback Drake Maye, even if he didn’t deliver his best performance in his Super Bowl debut.

Another key reason for that confidence is the man leading the program.

“He’s coach of the year for a reason,” Maye said. “He’s somebody that we all love playing for — no other coach we’d rather play for. He’s a constant reminder of why we believe, why we show up to work, and have an identity.”

For now, Vrabel is choosing to focus on pride in the journey rather than frustration with the ending.

“Unbelievably rewarding,” Vrabel said. “I can’t tell these players enough how proud I am of them. And again, we’re disappointed, not discouraged.

“We have to be disappointed. We have to be upset. We have to be those things together. We can’t be divided. We can’t be frontrunners. We can’t be a good teammate and can’t care about the team and do the right things only when you win. Sometimes in this game of professional football you lose and you still have to be able to do those things. Hopefully they will.”