The New England Patriots were never supposed to advance to Super Bowl LX.
If you asked people whether or not they had a chance back at the start of the season they wouldn’t even have answered, you would have just received insane looks as they scoffed at such a ridiculous question. If you asked them at the beginning of the playoffs they would have come up with reasons why their eventual opponents — the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos — had a better chance of advancing to play in Santa Clara, Calif.
It’s no longer a hypothetical, though. The Patriots are officially back on the biggest stage in sports, which brings us to another question entirely…
How did they get here?
I don’t think it’s much of a secret, but let’s take a short trip down memory lane and identify the landmarks that were passed by on the road back to the Super Bowl:
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ADMITTING DEFEAT
“Nobody wanted to see him leave. We didn’t know he was fired until after the game and then it was very shocking news. He meant everything. He was a great leader, a great coach, a great friend. He was pretty much consistent every single day.” – Deatrich Wise
The Patriots felt both shocked and defeated following the quick dismissal of former head coach Jerod Mayo. It’s safe to say the general public felt differently, as the writing was on the wall following back-to-back seasons in which the organization showed zero signs of improvement, but that really isn’t the point in sharing how important the decision to cut bait ultimately proved to be.
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Mayo’s appointment to that role came through a pre-negotiated succession plan in his contract extension that allowed the team to bypass a formal search process and elevate him to become head coach whenever it moved on from Bill Belichick. Robert Kraft put those plans in place himself, and had zero issues telling people all about it before eventually needing to admit defeat and pull the plug on the entire operation — which might be the most important singular decision he made in the last two decades.
Mike Vrabel was identified as someone who was a better fit entirely, so the franchise wasted no time in bringing him aboard — firing Mayo on Jan. 5 and filling his vacated office with Vrabel on Jan. 12.
ASKING FOR HELP
Vrabel’s first order of business was to conduct a full organizational audit — essentially bringing folks around these parts up to speed on how everyone else is doing things after the building became an outdated mess during the last several seasons under Belichick and Mayo.
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Kraft has already responded to the NFLPA’s survey that ranked the franchise’s facilities, treatment of families and ownership near the bottom of the NFL, announcing plans for a state-of-the-art training facility at One Patriot Place. Vrabel’s job was to bring in the right people, and that’s exactly what he did.
New England’s coaching staff is undoubtedly one of the most impressive in the entire league, including five former head coaches (Vrabel, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, offensive line coach Doug Marrone and senior defensive assistant Ben McAdoo).
How’s that for a helping hand?
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Vrabel not only brought in assistants that he had familiarity with, but also had the humility to add assistants who could provide things that were missing from his program and elevate the ceiling of the players within it — a crucial piece to his personal development.
THE MIDDLE CLASS
I don’t need to tell you about all the new faces that have played a significant role in this team advancing to play in the Super Bowl.
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Milton Williams, Carlton Davis, Stefon Diggs and Robert Spillane have been tremendous. The Patriots’ extremely efficient “middle class” is what has them knocking on the door, however…
Mack Hollins, K’Lavon Chaisson, Jaylinn Hawkins, Khyiris Tonga and Garrett Bradbury were all signed to deals this offseason that paid them between $1 million and $7 million, and combined to miss just two regular season games while each making monster contributions. Corey Durden and Leonard Taylor III were brought aboard out of necessity and have become key pieces to the rotation.
If you build a team through free agency, you need to hit with unbelievable efficiency — and that’s what this team did across the board.
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DRAFTING WITH EFFICIENCY
Will Campbell, Jared Wilson and Craig Woodson will start on Sunday. Andy Borregales and Julian Ashby will make up two-thirds of the specialist group. TreVeyon Henderson and Kyle Williams will provide a spark to the offense.
New England didn’t just hit on this rookie class, it transformed the future of the franchise with it.
DEVELOPMENT OF STARS
Drake Maye is either going to finish first or second in the race for NFL MVP. Christian Gonzalez is one of the very best defensive players in the league, and has done enough to impress his notoriously cranky head coach. Christian Barmore and Mike Onwenu are steady stars at their respective positions. Kayshon Boutte exploded onto the scene as one of the best deep threats in football.
If those guys don’t make unbelievable strides this season, this team doesn’t make it this far.
I don’t know who you give the credit to, but having superstars arrive at the same is what has put this exact franchise in position to win year-after-year over the last two decades — and has them once again in position to win the Super Bowl.
