Josh Alper ,
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Mike Vrabel won a lot of games in Tennessee while he was coaching the Titans, but Sunday’s visit as the head coach of the Patriots ended with a new twist.
Those left in the stands were chanting for Vrabel as the 31-13 win came to an end. It was Vrabel’s first trip back to town since the Titans fired him after the 2023 season and Vrabel downplayed the personal angle to the game whenever he was asked about it this week.
Vrabel did the same when asked about the chants and the win after the game, but Patriots players said they were happy to hear it and wide receiver Stefon Diggs said there was extra motivation to win for the coach even if Vrabel didn’t play up that angle.
“Good for him. He’ll be back to work tomorrow though,” Diggs said, via a transcript for the team. “Pretty sure he’s just feeling the same way. He said something to us that was like, every week is personal, he wasn’t lying. Whether it’s individual or a team, you want to win each and every week, and if you don’t want to win, it doesn’t add another layer if you, I guess, feel a way or feel a way about a team. But he came in with the same mindset. He didn’t change, he didn’t do anything extra. He was just his same usual self. I can appreciate that from a player standpoint. Knowing what kind of guy you’re going to get each and every week. I don’t care what he says, we wanted to win that game for him.”
The Patriots are now 5-2 and riding a four-game winning streak. The last three of those wins came on the road and that may mean more chanting for what Vrabel’s done in his first months as the head coach when they return to Gillette Stadium in Week 8.
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