Mike Vrabel, who was officially introduced Monday as the 16th head coach in New England Patriots history, said quarterback Drake Maye was one of the top reasons the job was so appealing to him, Mike Reiss of ESPN reports.
After noting how "open dialogue" with owner Robert Kraft and president Jonathan Kraft was critical, Vrabel cited the presence of Maye as another main reason he was convinced about coming to New England, calling him a "young, dynamic quarterback."
Later, in an interview on ESPN's "SportsCenter," Vrabel elaborated on how he hopes to grow with the 22-year-old Maye.
"I think he's young, talented, willing to learn. I think there's a toughness to him. There's an amazing skillset in which to mold and to have him lead our football team and lead our offense," Vrabel said.
"There's arm talent. There's athleticism. Certainly, we have to be great around him and we're going to continue to push him as much as he lets us."
Vrabel, 49, had also interviewed with the New York Jets and Chicago Bears for their head coaching jobs. One of his most important decisions will be hiring an offensive coordinator to work with Maye, which he said is "far from solidified" at this point.
Asked how he planned to help Maye reach his potential, Vrabel said the first thing would be to "put great people around him."
"My involvement will be as it relates to game management and situational awareness, where we are on the football field, and trying to develop him as a leader of the offense," he said. "Drake is going to be his own person, but I'm going to give him some things that I feel like are necessary to win football games.
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