​From Player to Coach, Patriots’ Mike Vrabel Understands and Embraces Load Management originally appeared on NESN.
Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.An NFL head coach molds a roster of players into a tight-knit family. Some of their methods could be considered unorthodox. That may be the case for Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, who transitioned from player to skipper.Vrabel played from 1997 to 2010, with eight seasons in New England. He played in every game almost every season. He transitioned to coaching in 2011 and became the head coach of the Titans from 2018 to 2023.The Patriots signed him in 2025, and Vrabel led them to the Super Bowl in his first season. In another life, Vrabel may have put the hammer down after the team lost the Super Bowl and put them to work from the moment preseason play hit. However, Vrabel did the opposite.The 51-year-old understands the physical toll football puts on players. That’s why he gives players days off, or “vet days” where they can lift weights instead of practice. Vrabel also embraces modern sports science to keep his players healthy.”I just think as the data becomes more available, you have to be careful (not) to go overboard,” Vrabel told The Athletic. “You want to track certain numbers, high-speed numbers, yardage and all the other stuff and also have a pretty good gauge of the player and what they look like and how conditioned they are. And we try to set the schedule up accordingly…”When there is a longer stretch (of consecutive practices or games), you may have to dial back on a particular player. But I think when you become a head coach, you try to focus on the things that get the team ready and what each guy needs. And then some more of the GPS stuff became really popular and prevalent, and anything that can help us keep the players out there, I’m all for.”The NFL hasn’t fully embraced load management as the NBA and MLB have. But the league is slowly but surely adopting it. Vrabel is just ahead of everyone else.New England was one of the most consistent teams last season. Sports Info Solutions had them as one of the three healthiest teams in football, with 59 Total Points per game missed. Consistency is key, and Vrabel wants 100% from his players. He also knows they have to be able to do so.”He’s (Vrabel) got a good feel for when guys are hurting,” DT Milton Williams said. “We’ll still practice, but he knows when to take a load off of us. He’s going to take care of us when he feels like we need it, but also when it’s time to practice and it’s time to go, (he will say), ‘I need it all from you.'”This year, the Patriots got affected by the injury bug early. TreVeyon Henderson missed Week 1 with an injury, and A.J. Brown is out several weeks after a high ankle sprain. Still, Vrabel will continue finding ways to help his players. When they return to action, he may ease them back in his own way.More PatriotsLatest Patriots newsTom Brady’s Patriots legacy: H