November 9, 2025

What Mike Vrabel said about Joe Mazzulla stopping by Patriots practice


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FoxBoroughWhen Mike Vrabel entered Patriots practice on Wednesday, he was talking to a visitor.

Joe Mazzulla, the coach of the Celtics, came by to take a look around the field.

Mazzulla has attended Patriots workouts in the past under Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo. He likes to pick up tips from other coaches and was raised as a Patriots supporter in nearby Johnston, Rhode Island.

Joe is amazing. “I am grateful that he reached out to me as soon as I arrived,” Vrabel said. We most likely have different personalities, and I believe that’s what I value most about him.

He’s constantly trying to learn new things about team building, strategy, plan, and motivating players to perform their jobs. I’m thrilled that he was able to come out here with his son today, and I always enjoy our chats.

Michael Harden, Mazzulla’s stepson, is a Xaverian high school football player. His Hudl page states that he is a 6-foot-2, 215-pound outside linebacker.

Joe Mazzulla is there at the Patriots practice today.Twitter: pic.twitter.com/1UppfMkqok

Mazzulla attended some of the Patriots’ defensive sessions last year, according to Mayo. At the time, Mazzulla claimed to have learned a lot from the meetings. He watched how the Patriots covered their defensive plays and communicated before to the snap.

Mazzulla stated in September of last year that all of those things are really significant. Seeing how you can use those to disguise the appearance of your defense at the start of a possession has been fantastic. Later in the possession, you might go to something else.

During Mazzulla’s tenure with the Celtics, the team is in its most precarious moment. Jayson Tatum is recuperating from an Achilles tendon tear. Despite undergoing knee surgery in the offseason, Jaylen Brown should be prepared for training camp.

Luke Kornet, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis are all elsewhere due to trades and free agency. Al Horford, a free agent at the moment, is still unsure about his course of action.

When Ime Udoka was suspended for breaking team rules in 2022, Mazzulla took over a club that had lost in the NBA Finals.

Over his three seasons, he has amassed a winning percentage of.740 and assisted in leading the Celtics to their first championship since 2008. Among coaches who have coached more than one season, the winning % is the greatest in NBA history.

The Celtics will probably need to make major offseason alterations due to a redesigned roster and the potential for Tatum to be sidelined for an extended amount of time.

Mazzulla watched the Patriots, who are going through a change of their own as they begin Vrabel’s first season as the team’s head coach, in Foxborough one morning.

Boston.com’s Khari Thompson reports on professional sports. Khari worked as a college football reporter for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi, prior to joining the team in 2022.

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