It’s crazy how quickly things can change in the NFL. This time last year, the New England Patriots were figuring things out with a new staff after Robert Kraft decided to fire head coach Jerod Mayo and replace him with Mike Vrabel. This time around, the Pats are fresh off an unexpected Super Bowl appearance, thanks in large part to the work Vrabel has done since arriving in town. 

While Vrabel’s work with the team’s roster is obviously very important, he also managed to get on the same page with general manager Eliot Wolf, who was a holdover from the previous regime. Things changed pretty quickly for Wolf once Vrabel took over, as Mayo’s operation in 2024 was not run smoothly. In fact, Wolf recently revealed that he was responsible for handling the team’s player discipline instead of Mayo.

“In 2024, handling some of the player discipline stuff was challenging,” Wolf revealed on “The McShay Show.” “You’re trying your best to keep it consistent while also working with the coaching staff. Mike (Vrabel) kind of took over most of that this year, so that helped a lot.”

Having Wolf come down from the front office to hand out punishments for players is certainly a strange move, and that goes to show just how discombobulated the team’s setup was during his time in charge. Vrabel quickly took that responsibility on himself, which helped the Patriots establsih a much more streamlined process in that department.

The decision to fire Mayo and replace him with Vrabel was met with some backlash last offseason, but he has managed to come in and right the ship in record time. Now, if the team can put together a strong body of work over the next few months, New England could be primed to build off of its surprise Super Bowl run from 2025.

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