A.J. Brown was coached by Mike Vrabel in Tennessee.
There have been rumors that the Philadelphia Eagles could trade A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots this offseason.
If that were to happen, Brown would be reunited with Mike Vrabel, who coached the WR on the Tennessee Titans.
During a recent episode of the "Dudes on Dudes" podcast with former Patriots stars Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, Brown said he used to hate Vrabel, who led New England to the Super Bowl this season.
"Vrabe is the type of coach that he's going to call on you in the meetings," Brown said. "He wants to make sure you're staying engaged and he's going to go over the keys to victory of the week. You better know them by the back of your hand. I used to write in my notebook because at the time, I really didn't like Vrabes. I didn't like him, and I admit that he knows that. So, I used to write, 'I hate Vrabes, I hate Vrabes, I hate Vrabes.' I was doing that to pretend like I was taking notes to look like I was engaged. But because he was so hard on me when I was a rookie and I really didn't understand it. So, at the time I told Vrabes like, 'Hey, like I'm humble already. You don't got to humble me.' But I really didn't understand what he was trying to, you know, push me to be.
"Another little quick thing, he showed a clip and I ran like a bang-8 [route], and I scored and he praised me. So, I was kind of feeling good about myself, right? I'm a rookie and a couple of plays later, he showed me another play with the bang-8, and I get tackled. He was like, 'What's the difference between the first play and the second play?' And he was like, 'You're tired.' He was like, 'That's not going to cut it.' He like, 'That same mentality that you showed on the first play, you should do that all the time. That's who you are. Like this right here, that's not going to cut it.' When I say he holds every single player accountable from top to bottom, I don't care who it is, like that's who he is. And it makes the team come together because nobody is bigger than the team. Nobody is bigger than the program, so you have to respect it."
It appears Brown now has a greater appreciation for Vrabel. Maybe that means Brown would be open to playing for Vrabel again.
Many people who cover the NFL believe the Eagles will trade Brown this offseason. Brown had 78 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns in the regular season. He and QB Jalen Hurts weren't on the same page at all.
The Super Bowl showed that the Patriots need more playmakers around Drake Maye. It will be fascinating to see if New England pursues a trade for Brown this offseason.
Patriots Roundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Patriots. Click the "Join" button at the top of the page to join our community for free.