The New England Patriots enter Year 2 with Drake Maye at quarterback, but he will face the challenge of adapting to a new head coach in Mike Vrabel. On top of that, Maye will have a new offensive coordinator in Josh McDaniels, meaning there will be a learning curve for the young quarterback.
On the recent episode of "Scoop City," Maye spoke to The Athletic's Senior NFL Insider Dianna Russini about how life has been under Vrabel as they prepare for the 2025 NFL season.
"I think we're all excited to have Coach Vrabel in here," Maye told Russini. "He's intense. He pushes us hard. He expects a lot from us. I think it means a lot when he's done it, when he's accomplished as a player and as a coach. It speaks for itself. It's easy to rally behind a coach like that who's done it on the field, had success as a head coach, and [is] bringing his deal to the Patriots and where he played.
"He's got a love for the Patriots itself. But I think it's awesome to play for a coach who cares and carries himself with that much intensity and pushes me—and the guys on the team—as hard as he does every day."
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Furthermore, Maye says having a coach who understands what the offense should look like and how plays need to be executed is a big advantage. Vrabel can pull out old game tape to visually guide the young quarterback.
"He's always just thinking ahead," Maye added. "He knows the system so well. He knows the answers and knows, just like second nature, what we should have done or what he saw [on] that play. He sees it so well...
"We have plays in practice now that he pulls back old clips of that same play with something happening and relates [them] to that. It's really cool to see him relate back to that and relate to helping us out and play better."
Last season, 22-year-old Drake Maye appeared in 13 games, starting 12, and completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
In his second year, Maye will focus on getting comfortable in McDaniels’ offense and building chemistry with new wide receiver Stefon Diggs, as the Patriots aim to better protect the young quarterback, who was sacked 34 times last season.