Is Drake Maye the X-factor in the Patriots’ pursuit of Mike Vrabel? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
A superstar quarterback isn’t necessary to be a contending team in the NFL, but it certainly helps. And when it comes to teams with head coaching vacancies, the better quarterback your team has, the more attractive your team is as a destination for top candidates.
The New England Patriots have one of the worst teams in the NFL. It lacks high-end talent and has weaknesses at many of the most important positions.
But not at quarterback.
Drake Maye is coming off an impressive rookie campaign for the Patriots. The No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 2,276 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also ran for 421 yards (7.8 per carry) and two touchdowns. He didn’t have the luxury of a No. 1 wideout, and New England’s offensive line was terrible.
Maye has shown tremendous potential, and that’s why the open head coaching position in Foxboro is attractive.
🔊 Patriots Talk Podcast: Should the Patriots sell Mike Vrabel? | Listen and subscribe | Watch on YouTube
How much of an X-factor Maye is on the Patriots pursuit of head coach candidate Mike Vrabel? Our insiders Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry discussed this topic and more in a new episode of NBC Sports Boston. Patriots Discussion Podcast.
“In my opinion, that’s why Mike Vrabel wants the job: He’s Drake Maye,” Perry said. “The connection to the Patriots is nice, and it’s a good story, and he wears a red jacket (as a member of the team’s Hall of Fame). He has a connection to the Krafts, which, I think, should count for him because he should have an idea of the room to maneuver that they will give him as leader of the football operation. It’s important.
“But what’s more important is that you’re in the hardest and most important position on the field, whereas these other openings… just don’t have it in exactly the same way.”
The other team with a head coach that has a good young quarterback is the Chicago Bears.
Caleb Williams had a solid rookie campaign for the Bears in which he completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 3,541 yards with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed for 489 yards. Williams has two good gaps in veteran DJ Moore and rookie Rome Odunze.
The Bears are one of the team members Vrabel has interviewed with over the past two weeks.
“The Bears quarterback is not as good (as Maye), period,” Perry said. “I don’t think that – whatever, ‘as good, not as good,’ I think the quarterback there and the personality that matches the head coach wouldn’t be quite the same kind of d ‘fit than here in New England.
If you look at Vrabel’s six seasons as head coach of the Tennessee Titans, he did not have a dynamic or top-tier quarterback to lead the offense. Marcus Mariota, Ryan Tannehill and Will Levis won’t get you to the Super Bowl. Those Titans teams were led by star running back Derrick Henry and a stout defense.
Maye has the potential to become a legitimate star in the near future, so it’s important that the Patriots surround him with more talent at the skill positions and a better offensive line.
And they have a lot of resources… including the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and approximately $130 million in salary cap space – to achieve that goal this offseason.
Also in this episode:
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Breaking down OC candidates
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When will the badmouthing stop with the Patriots?
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What if it wasn’t Mike Vrabel or Ben Johnson?
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How will players react to Vrabel?
