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This time last year, the New England Patriots found themselves in the midst of a controversy.
The team had fired Jerod Mayo, practically handpicked by Bill Belichick to replace him, after just one season, albeit a 4-13 campaign.
Former Patriots called out the team for not giving Mayo a fair shot, but after replacing Mayo with Mike Vrabel, all is forgiven.
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Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots reacts against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first quarter at Gillette Stadium on Nov. 3, 2013, in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
In Vrabel’s first season in New England, the Patriots are back in the Super Bowl, which they played in 10 times under Belichick.
“Winning cures everything. That’s been a known fact since I’ve been in the NFL, and it’s something I learned tremendously,” Rob Gronkowski, who called Mayo’s firing an “ugly situation,” said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “It cures players’ troubles off the field, it really does. Not all of it, but a lot of things. It can cure a dismantled organization — all of a sudden, you start winning, and you’re a well-put-together program. Winning literally does cure all, and that’s why it’s the entire goal.”
There’s no question that Gronkowski, who won three Super Bowls with the Patriots, is pumped that the mess in New England has been cleaned up. While teaming up with Bounty, which has kept him clean from saucy buffalo wings during recent Super Bowl weeks, he gave credit to Bounty for also cleaning up the slop in Foxborough.
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel walks on the field before an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
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“In the offseason, Bounty came in and cleaned up the mess. They cleaned up the roster, they cleaned up the guys that shouldn’t be on the team, they cleaned house, brought in a lot of free agents. Let’s contribute the entire season to Bounty,” Gronkowski joked.
“You can’t have football without wings, and you can’t have wings without Bounty, so it relates to me all over the place,” he added. “I’m a wing guy. I’m from Buffalo, my buffalo wings will be forever with me, and I’m a football guy. Eleven years in the NFL and now I’m an analyst for FOX, so football has been with me. And then Bounty paper towels just cleans up my mess while I’m watching the game, getting all saucy all over the place. I was a maniac off the field and I always cleaned up my mess. That’s why I always stayed out of trouble.”
Gronkowski also ripped the Tennessee Titans for letting Vrabel go.
“They’ve been a debacle since Mike Vrabel left. That was one of the worst moves they’ve ever made in program history. I don’t see why they let him leave. The guy did a great job there, he didn’t have a ton of guys to go out there and make plays, and they still won football games, just like they’re winning football games in New England. That was one of the biggest mistakes in Tennessee history,” he said.
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel watches during the first half of the AFC Championship NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
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Vrabel coached the Titans from 2018 through 2023, even losing to Gronkowski and the Pats in an AFC title game.
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