An experienced and quality coach like Mike Vrabel was always bound to turn the New England Patriots around eventually. But no one could have guessed he’d outshine the rest of Bill Belichick’s disciples this quickly.
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After a sixth straight win in Week 9, one could argue that Vrabel has already outperformed anyone else from the massive Bill Belichick coaching tree. New England now sits at 7-2 and is poised to at least make the playoffs for the first time since 2021, or even win the division for the first time since Tom Brady’s final season in Foxborough back in 2019.
Cris Carter, a Hall of Fame wide receiver and NFL analyst, finds an irony in it all… that Vrabel looks likely to become the best Belichick “disciple,” despite only having played for Belichick and never coached under the legendary football guru.
“They got [Patriots owner Robert] Kraft committed to trying to win one more. He gets really the only disciple that didn’t coach for him… All the other ones struggled. But all the other guys struggle coached [for Belichick]. Now, Vrabel played for him, never coached for him, and he’s an elite leader of grown men,” Carter said on an episode of his podcast, Fully Loaded.
Technically, Vrabel shouldn’t be counted among Belichick’s coaching tree. But as Carter joked, they always like to take credit when you’re good. There have been 11 former Belichick assistant coaches to earn a head coaching job in the NFL.
Bill O’Brien, who coached the Houston Texans to a 52-48 record from 2014-2020, is probably the most successful, having captured four division titles during his tenure. However, he went just 2-4 in the playoffs.
Brian Flores and Al Groh were also decent during their short tenures in Miami and New York, respectively. Nick Saban struggled during a short stint with the Dolphins as well, but did end up becoming arguably the greatest college coach ever at Alabama.
Otherwise, Jerod Mayo, Brian Daboll, Eric Mangini, Romeo Crennel, Josh McDaniels, Joe Judge, and Matt Patricia have all left a stain on Belichick’s legacy.
Patriots have a massive turnaround in their first year under Vrabel
But while Vrabel deserves a lot of plaudits, all he can really do is inspire and motivate his guys from the sideline. He’s admittedly not much of an X’s and O’s coach, at least not on the offensive side. It’s the new-look roster in 2025 that has truly turned things around for New England. And as Carter pointed out, it all starts with last year’s No. 3 overall pick, QB Drake Maye.
“The first year with Drake Maye we thought, okay, they’ve got something here. Great athlete, can make all the throws, you hear about his leadership, that he’s continuing to grow in that. And [he’s] at an elite level as far as leadership.”
Maye currently sits top five in every major QB category, even leading the NFL in completion percentage at 74.1. But the rest of the team has stepped up, too. They have five pass catchers with 200+ yards and multiple TD receptions. They are also top five in scoring defense and top 10 in total defense.
It’s a complete team, and even after the Buffalo Bills’ big win over the Kansas City Chiefs last week, the reigning AFC East champs (now 6-2) are going to be tough to catch this red-hot Patriots team. New England still has five more games against teams that currently have a losing record.
