FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — After a controversial start to the offseason in which he was the subject of headlines for things other than football, New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said he’s enjoying keeping his focus on the field.
“We all have to deal with things outside of here. And my focus and, obviously, the excitement I have for coaching is what is most important right now,” Vrabel said Wednesday in his first public comments to reporters since fulfilling his pledge to be away from the team on the final day of the NFL draft last month to begin counseling after photos were published of him with longtime NFL reporter Dianna Russini at an Arizona resort.
As to whether he anticipated missing any more time with the team this spring, the coach said he couldn’t predict the future.
“I can only tell you I’m going to be there today. I can’t tell you anything other than I’m going to be out there today in full force,” he said. “And I mean that, because who knows what’s going to come up? Anything could happen. So I’m going to focus on today and the excitement that we’ve had and that we’ve built so far.”
The Patriots were on the field for the first of seven voluntary practices in organized team activities leading into next month’s mandatory three-day minicamp.