Six years before AJ Brown’s dream of playing for the New England Patriots came true, he was a rookie wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans, being chewed out by head coach Mike Vrabel for his mistakes. Vrabel’s demand for excellence went to such lengths that Brown would actually scribble “I hate Vrabes. I hate Vrabes,” on his notebook, pretending to be engaged in meetings. Under Vrabel’s Patriots regime now, nothing has really changed.

When 98.5 The Sports Hub caught up with Brown at the Patriots’ training camp recently, they asked him how it feels playing under the head coach who once brought him to the NFL. Smiling from ear to ear, swaying slightly, Brown made his feelings crystal clear.

“It’s great, man,” Brown said. “The first day, I almost brought in a pass on Gonzo [CB Christian Gonzalez]. And first team meet, he ripped me up. And you know, I was just over there smiling. I was like, ‘Man, I love it, man.’ I miss his crazy self. And it’s good though, because it’s the expectation when you come on the field, and you expect me to make those plays.

“And I expect myself to make those plays. And just having someone pushing you to be great each and every day is something that you want. And he does this each and every day with each and every one of us. So, I’m excited. I’m excited to be back with him. He hasn’t changed at all. And yeah, so I’m ready.”

As a player working under the legendary Bill Belichick, Mike Vrabel saw how the dynasty treated every practice rep like it was the playoffs. Vrabel was in the room when Tom Brady first came into the league and saw Belichick transform Brady into one of the greatest quarterbacks our sport has ever seen. That drive and the level of accountability Vrabel saw rubbed off on him, and it’s the same thing he now demands from his Patriots squad.

Back in Tennessee, Vrabel took AJ Brown & Co. to the playoffs three straight years (2019 – 2021). The 2021 season specifically was special, as it was the franchise’s highest win total since 2008 (a 12-5 regular season record). While that year ended with the AFC Championship game, Vrabel got his first Coach of the Year award. Brown saw all of that firsthand and then went to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022.

Since then, Brown had solidified himself as a reliable target for Philly’s quarterback Jalen Hurts. But over the last couple of seasons, the numbers declined, and after a 2025 season full of complaints about not getting enough targets, Brown finally got the chance to play for Mike Vrabel again.

New England gave up a 2027 fifth-round pick and a 2028 first-rounder to bring Brown to Foxborough. And now, Brown is happy to see the old coach who ripped him up for losing steam on a ‘bang-8’ route as a rookie, is still holding him accountable for mistakes.

It is with this drive that Vrabel flipped a 3-14 squad into a 14-3 Super Bowl contender last season and walked away with his second Coach of the Year. Despite all the offseason noise surrounding the Patriots, owner Robert Kraft has declared Vrabel isn’t going anywhere. Now the hope is that A.J. Brown sticks around, gives third-year quarterback Drake Maye a better case to run for the MVP, and fulfills those old expectations his head coach had of him. Nothing’s changed for Vrabel in six years, and his 29-year-old wide receiver can’t stop smiling about it.