NEW England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel’s tough rules for his players were revealed in a recent clip of a team meeting.
Vrabel will be in his first season as the head coach of the Patriots, a team he won Super Bowls for as a player in the 2000s.
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The 49-year-old Vrabel will have the challenge of turning the fortunes around of a Patriots team that is coming off a 4-13 season and has made the playoffs just once in the past five campaigns.
So a video went viral displaying the former linebacker Vrabel talking to his players in a meeting and laying down some ground rules.
Vrabel told his players to be on time for practices, lower their hoods during meetings, and put their cell phones away at all times during team activities.
The former Tennessee Titans head coach began his speech by asking players to “respect the football team and the people that are here.”
Vrabel said “be on time” and called out a player named Christian for being tardy (there are three players named Christian on the Pats: Christian Eliss, Christian Gonzalez, and Christian Barmore).
“We just talked about time. Be on time. And if I can’t be on time, Christian, what’s the easiest thing to do? You would just call. Right?” Vrabel asked.
“You would just call and communicate.”
Vrabel then said that the continued absences would get old at a certain point before he spoke about the topic of cell phones.
“We’ve all got cell phones,” he said. “Most of you have more than one, as a matter of fact. Just leave the cell phone in your bag.
“But just put the phone away. And if it rings, don’t start coughing.
“I’ve been in the league for 25 years, we all know when a cell phone goes off … we don’t need to start coughing and doing that s***.”
And Vravbel later shared his goal for his players to “protect” and be “proud” of the team as well as winning the AFC East.
He finished his speech by making it a point for his players to give the “utmost respect” to the training staff, equipment staff, and kitchen staff.
Social media users were amazed at Vrabel’s strict rules for his players.
“That’s a real HC right there,” one wrote.
“I support this approach,” another commented.
“Love the new culture in New England. No nonsense,” a third added.
Vrabel went 54-45 as a head coach of the Titans.
He helped the franchise win two AFC South titles and appeared in the AFC Championship Game during the 2019 playoffs.
The Titans even defeated Bill Belichick’s Patriots during that postseason run.
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Vrabel was fired after the 2023 campaign.
The Patriots let go of Belichick’s successor, Jerod Mayo, after one season as they now control the No. 4 overall pick in this month’s NFL Draft.