In Ernest Hemingway’s novel, “The Sun Also Rises,” one character questions another on how he went bankrupt, to which he famously replies: “Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”
That popular phrase encapsulates the collapse of the New England Patriots dynasty, which deteriorated gradually, and then crumbled all at once. Signs of the downfall were visible even when Tom Brady dragged the decaying roster to the dynasty’s sixth and final championship in Super Bowl LIII.
Over the past two seasons, New England finally hit rock bottom. The Patriots managed to win only four games in each of those two seasons, marking their lowest single-season win total since 1992. Once a model for coaching stability, the Patriots are now on their third head coach in the past three years. Mike Vrabel, another former Patriots linebacker from their dynasty, was hired in January to serve as the team’s next head coach.
Vrabel is currently laying the foundation for chemistry, culture and continuity as he begins his coaching journey with the Patriots. Despite the team’s recent struggles, he has brought optimism that New England will see brighter days ahead.
Mike Vrabel is building a culture with high standards in New England
The Patriots entered the offseason with the most salary cap space available, and they used it to make significant renovations to the roster. New England’s splashiest addition was defensive lineman Milton Williams, who helped lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a championship in Super Bowl LIX.
Williams signed a four-year, $104 million contract with $63 million in guaranteed money, making him the highest-paid player in franchise history. That type of financial commitment comes with responsibility, and Vrabel asked Williams to set the standard in the early days of organized team activities.
"Coach [Vrabel] called me out in front of everybody, which I like,” Williams said, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “He said, ‘If you’re going to be here, you have to set the standard.’”
After running a sprint during conditioning drills, Williams jogged back to the starting line at a pace that allowed his teammates to catch up. That irked New England's new head coach.
“He was like, 'Don't let them catch you. If you can make it [back] faster, make it,’” Williams said. “So every rep since then I've just been trying to make sure I'm the first one back. I feel like that's going to help me get where I want to be, and the guys running with me, it's going to push them to run even harder.”
As a former player, Vrabel can strike a balance as a player-friendly coach, but he is still a disciple of all-time great coach Bill Belichick, who comes from a coaching tree known for its sternness.
Last season, the Patriots made the mistake of pairing a first-time head coach in Jerod Mayo with a first-time general manager in Eliot Wolf. It became apparent early that the duo was ill-equipped to turn around a struggling roster. Wolf failed to deliver on a promise for a splashy free agency period last year, and Mayo’s inexperience compounded the problems.
Unlike Mayo, Vrabel is coming to New England with prior head coaching experience, having already found success (and failure) as a head coach during his six-year tenure with the Tennessee Titans. Vrabel was named the 2021 Coach of the Year after leading the Titans to the AFC’s top seed and an AFC Championship Game appearance, but he was ultimately fired after two consecutive losing seasons.
Now, Vrabel is hoping to take the lessons he learned from his prior experience to rebuild a fallen dynasty. In many ways, he has a blank canvas to work with: Only 47 of the current 91 players were with the team during the 2024 season. That’s tied for the fourth-highest turnover rate with the Carolina Panthers, trailing only the Las Vegas Raiders, Titans and Minnesota Vikings, according to Reiss.
The last remnants of New England’s dynasty are all gone, and the Patriots improved their roster with several key additions on both sides of the ball. Along with free agency additions such as Williams and wide receiver Stefon Diggs, the Patriots selected offensive tackle Will Campbell and running back TreVeyon Henderson with their first two picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The injection of talent will surely help the Patriots, but it will take more than talent to win games. Chemistry and culture will be vital, especially considering the team’s turnover.