Before Mike Vrabel and his staff took off for Indianapolis to interview prospects at the NFL Scouting Combine, there was one special young man he wanted to meet first here in Boston.
You won't find Jayden's name on any mock drafts or college football rosters – he's a 15-year-old from Cape Cod. But after he wrote a letter to the newly hired New England Patriots coach, Vrabel made it a priority to visit him before leaving town.
"Jayden is a long-term patient at Boston Children's Hospital, and he's just an awesome kid," said Jane Searfoss, a child life specialist in the pediatric intermediate care unit.
"He makes everybody smile. We're always talking about Boston sports. He's a huge sports fan and he is always craving connection."
For his care team, sports have been a go-to way to give Jayden that connection.
His tutor, an Ohio State University graduate, was hoping to get the teenager motivated for a writing project back in January – right around the time when the Patriots hired Vrabel, another former Buckeye.
Inspiration struck.
"They connected over Ohio State and the Patriots and decided to make the writing project a letter to Mike Vrabel, and it was an awesome letter," Searfoss said.
"They got some Ohio State gear to send off to Mike in hopes of getting a letter or a video back."
Ultimately, Jayden got much more than just a letter or a video response.
When Boston Children's staff contacted the Patriots community relations team to deliver Jayden's message, Vrabel didn't just respond—he wanted to do more.
"(Vrabel) read what was going on with Jayden and asked to just come see him," said Alexandra Hladick Bueno, the hospital's media relations manager.
"He was like, 'Can I come? Can I come tomorrow to meet him?' And this was all right before he had this huge trip. For me and all of us here at the hospital that just says so much about who he is, coming here on a Friday night at 6 p.m. to see one patient."
Staff couldn't wait to share the news with Jayden. His first question? Whether his tutor could be there too.
Fortunately, his care team had already taken care of those logistics, so they got to work to give Vrabel a warm welcome.
"We spent the day getting his room decorated," Searfoss said.
"He got to tell his family and he talked about it all day. He was so excited. Things like this are so amazing because it gave him something to look forward to. It's hard to be here for so long. Days can pass by and just feel the same. That's why this was so important. He's already printed out the pictures for his room and has been showing everybody the Polaroids of them both."
Having two sons of his own, staff says Vrabel was a natural in his attempts to get through to the teenager.
They played catch, took photographs, and even talked about the upcoming NFL Draft. Jayden had plenty of insight to offer Vrabel, and the head coach was sure to instruct John Streicher, Patriots vice president of football operations and strategy, to write it all down.
"It was just awesome to see that connection because they clearly bonded immediately," Searfoss said.
"I know to see Jayden sit up and smile like that is really heartwarming for everybody on our staff. And for someone like Mike to talk to our staff and take a photo was a huge morale boost for everybody involved. It's a hard job to be here and support these patients through everything and he was just amazing."
At the visit, Vrabel also met with about 20 staffers at Boston Children's, who largely benefited from the morale boost.
"One thing that really stuck with me that he said while we were leaving was, "You know, those ladies up there, they really love him,'" Hladick Bueno shared.
"Just having that moment where he totally recognized how much our care teams love our patients. He was very struck by that."
Before leaving, Vrabel signed a football for Jayden, writing 'We're so proud of you." He told the boy that he'd be hanging up the letter inside his office at Gillette Stadium.
The head coach left with one request: for Jayden to keep writing to him.
