The resulting product has been nothing short of remarkable, if not historic. Chaisson, a player largely considered a disappointment in Jacksonville, has enjoyed a career year that will undoubtedly draw a lucrative contract after Super Bowl LX. Living up to the impressive contract he signed in March, Williams is back in the Super Bowl after winning Super Bowl LIX with the Philadelphia Eagles a year ago. Spillane has returned from a late-season injury and assumed his role as a tough, fearless linebacker — traits Vrabel once displayed while on the field for the Patriots — in New England’s defense. Landry has mended his reputation as a productive defensive end since the Titans released him in an early 2025 savings deal.
Overall, they’ve each contributed to a postseason run to the Super Bowl that most would have found ludicrous to contemplate even in August. And all of this goes directly to the coach who showed up and instilled the belief that it was possible on Day 1.
“S—, honestly not long,” Landry said when asked how quickly Vrabel set the standard for success in New England. “I would say OTA, honestly. It’s crazy how quickly everyone bought in and when you have a group like we have in our locker room that is not only talented, but everyone is bought into the same thing with one goal in mind, anything can happen as you can see.”
No matter who you talk to, it seems every Patriot has come to the same conclusion. They are the underdog team that no one saw coming, one that received certain expectations from Vrabel, followed their coach’s example and grew closer as the season progressed. They’ll point to specific points in their 2025 journey — the Week 3 loss to Pittsburgh that they “took a little hard,” as linebacker Christian Elliss explained Tuesday, or the collapse and loss this week and the loss to Buffalo, as cornerback Marcus Jones pointed out Monday — and recall how it only strengthened their bond and prepared them for the game that followed football.
Every time, whether in rain, sleet or snow, the Patriots have won.
There’s also no secret sauce behind the Patriots’ history, at least not when Vrabel’s players explain it. They have simply followed their coach, focused on the details and executed while staying true to the basic tenets of football: Give everything for the man next to you.
“Even though we’ve brought in a lot of guys, a lot of coaching staff, different players, from day one we’ve been building that relationship week in and week out,” Williams said on Super Bowl LX opening night. “Outside of the building, going to get food, playing video games, watching tapes together, all of that. We’ve just been building this brotherhood all year and it got us to this point.”
Although the Super Bowl is a stage this team hasn’t seen in its current existence — six years might not seem like a long time, but none of those Patriots were on the roster when New England last made it to the Super Bowl in the 2018 season — this team doesn’t seem fazed by the enormity of the issue. After all, they shouldn’t; they have a coach who can tell them everything they need to know about playing in sports’ greatest spectacle.
Plus, as Vrabel expressed on his very first day, the process is more important than the stakes or the outcome.
“We’re not going to win the Super Bowl that day,” Elliss said of Vrabel’s first message to his players. “It will take one day at a time.”
The only day that matters most is Sunday.