A season ago, Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel had the New England Patriots thinking about another dynasty. Now, fans are wondering if there’s bad blood between them.
Maye, an MVP finalist last season, has looked downright awful so far this season. He’s completing 63.7% of his passes for 585 yards with one touchdown and six interceptions. There were several head-scratching decisions he made in Week 3, which led to interesting comments from Vrabel a few days later.
“I think quarterbacks want to make plays. they want to throw touchdowns,” Vrabel said on The Greg Hill Show earlier this week. “I think sometimes when Greg and I go golfing, we really want to make a good score, right?…we try to choke the life out of the golf club, and we’re squeezing it so damn tight that the ball has no choice but to go sideways. We need to stop trying to choke the life out of every single play. We need to relax.”
During this Wednesday’s edition of Greg Hill’s WEEI Radio show, he suggested there’s an issue between Maye and Vrabel.
“Despite what Mike Vrabel has said publicly, it goes back to Drake Maye not being his guy,” Hill said. “Mike Vrabel is a ‘his guy’ kind of coach. Since he’s got here, he’s gone out and got all of his guys.”
That certainly doesn’t sound promising for the Patriots.
Corey Perrine/Florida Times‑Union.
Who’s to blame for the Pats’ struggles this season?
While on ESPN’s “First Take” earlier this week, Dan Orlovsky said he’s losing confidence in Maye and Vrabel as a duo. However, he’s more willing to side with the quarterback over the coach.
“I have not lost confidence in Drake Maye because the guy that he lost to yesterday was him in 2024. Trevor Lawrence’s confidence was shot in 2024 after the start of his career,” Orlovsky said. “Multiple coaches, the turnovers, the decisions, it was awful. And all of a sudden Liam Coen comes in, and it’s this rocket ship. Now Trevor is about as confident as anybody in the NFL at that position. So I have not lost confidence in Drake Maye. Am I losing confidence in Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel as a team, as a grouping, as a pairing of head coach and quarterback? I am. Let’s have a good football conversation.”
If the Patriots continue to stumble, they may have to choose between their coach and quarterback.
For now though, the Patriots are getting ready for a Week 4 showdown with the Buffalo Bills.
