“For me as a player, especially a quarterback, you want that,” Maye said. “You like that. You want to be coached hard. We’re playing at the highest level, but we still need to be coached hard. ... We probably need that, a little hard coaching.”

The Patriots filled out the masthead of its coaching staff with a well-seasoned group that has deep roots across the NFL.

Vrabel has a mix of experience and youth on his Patriots coaching staff, including Doug Marrone, Thomas Brown and Ashton Grant on offense.