The New England Patriots' promising partnership between quarterback Drake Maye and head coach Mike Vrabel is showing cracks. After a season that had fans dreaming of a new dynasty, the 2024 campaign has turned into a nightmare, and whispers of discord are growing louder.
Maye, who was an MVP finalist last year, has been a shell of his former self. He's completed just 63.7% of his passes for 585 yards, with a paltry one touchdown against six interceptions. His decision-making in Week 3 was particularly alarming, prompting some eyebrow-raising comments from Vrabel days later.
“I think quarterbacks want to make plays. They want to throw touchdowns,” Vrabel said on The Greg Hill Show. “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.”
That golf analogy didn't sit well with everyone. On Wednesday's edition of Greg Hill's WEEI Radio show, Hill suggested there's more than just on-field struggles at play.
“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's a damning assessment, and it doesn't bode well for the Patriots' future. The tension isn't just a local media narrative either. On ESPN's First Take, Dan Orlovsky weighed in, saying he's losing faith in the Maye-Vrabel pairing as a unit, even if he still believes in Maye individually.
“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.”
The situation has reached a boiling point. If the Patriots continue to stumble, the franchise may be forced to choose between its coach and its quarterback. That's a decision no team wants to make, but the clock is ticking.
For now, the focus shifts to a daunting Week 4 matchup against the Buffalo Bills. The pressure is immense, and the relationship between Maye and Vrabel will be under a microscope. Can they put aside their differences and find a way to win, or is this the beginning of the end?
