Patriots quarterback Drake Maye checked in from the Pro Bowl with his first public comments on new head coach Mike Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
Speaking to Sirius XM radio on Friday, the Pro Bowl alternate shared his excitement for the Patriots new-look coaching staff. In his introductory press conference, Vrabel said the Pats quarterback, who is down in Orlando this week at the Pro Bowl Games, was one reason he found the job in New England appealing, calling Maye a "young, dynamic quarterback."
During his radio interview at the 2025 Pro Bowl Games, Maye said that he's already been in communication with his new head coach.
"[Vrabel] reached out to me, and we got on the phone. He's been awesome. Obviously, a guy who's done it, played in the league, and won a Super Bowl," Maye told Sirius XM. "You have a respect for what he's done and seen what he's done. I think the biggest thing is he's been a head coach and knows what it's like. So excited to get up to New England and get things going."
The 22-year-old starting quarterback was a late addition to the Pro Bowl roster following a promising rookie season. Maye finished his first season as the 17th-ranked quarterback in ESPN's total QBR metric out of 32 qualified passers (58.6), slightly ahead of fellow rookie QB Bo Nix (56.9) and one spot below Jags QB Trevor Lawrence (59.3). The Pats QB threw for 2,276 passing yards with 17 total touchdowns in 12 starts as a rookie.
Along with sharing his excitement for his new head coach, Maye was also asked about offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels returning to direct New England's offense. With the Pats top brass spending the last week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Vrabel suggested that McDaniels will add "new trends" to his offense that will also cater the offense to Maye.
"There's been some growth from the offense over the years, and [McDaniels] has blended that with some of the new trends, but the foundation will remain the same," Vrabel said. "We're going to want to do things that maybe they didn't do with previous quarterbacks here."
As the head coach stated, Maye has a different skill set than most of the quarterbacks that McDaniels has worked with previously. Mainly, the second-year QB is a dual threat, with the ability to stress defenses with his arm talent and mobility. The hope is that McDaniels will leverage all of Maye's physical tools against opposing defenses, giving New England's offense as many ways as possible to move the ball and score points.
"Coach McDaniels, obviously what he's done and the success he's had, I'm fortunate to be able to have a guy come in who has done it at a high level and learn from him coaching one of the best ever – the best ever in my opinion -- Tom [Brady]," Maye said of his new offensive coordinator.
Maye will have to adjust to new terminology this offseason. As a rookie, Maye ran a West Coast offense coached by former OC Alex Van Pelt. McDaniels' roots are in the Patriots dynasty-era offense called the Erhardt-Perkins system. There's some overlap in passing concepts between the two offenses, but they speak different languages and traditionally put different responsibilities on the quarterback. Maye said he will use McDaniels' robust play library to learn the offense this offseason.
"I have a great chance to go back [into] all those years of film he has in the little database," Maye said. "It's all their play calls, all coach McDaniels' stuff, and what he did with Tom. So it's fortunate for me to go back and study it up and get ready for this next season."
Lastly, Maye was asked where he's looking to improve in his second season. Based on his response, the Pats QB1 is already on the same page as his head coach. Earlier this offseason, Vrabel said that his role in Maye's development would be "as it relates to game management and situational awareness and where we are on the football field and trying to develop him as a leader," while McDaniels will now be in charge of offense's nuances.
Maye echoed his head coach's plan for him by saying his goal is to improve in those two key areas for winning games in the NFL: situational football and being a leader.
"Playing my position, you have to be in tune in every situation. Those guys are looking at you, the other 10 guys on the field, it's your job to get things going and get things on the right page. So, I think situational football and just continuing to grow as a leader," Maye said.
With the Patriots coaching staff taking shape around their talented quarterback, there's reason for optimism that Vrabel, Maye, and McDaniels will be able to right the ship next season.
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