Mike Vrabel Doesn't Know if Patriots Players Think He's 'An Ass--le' Before Games

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel might be demanding, but he knows praise can go a long way after a big win.

Vrabel made sure to salute his players as they entered the locker room following a 23-20 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night.

"This is their day. I'm happy for them," he told reporters in his postgame press conference (beginning at the 6:34 mark of the video below). "We challenge them all week. We push them. We coach them. Whether they think I'm an ass--le during the week or not, I don't know. But I'm going to try to coach the heck out of them all week and try to get them ready and the things that I think are important for us to do, try to get to do them.

"Then they get to the game. It's their day to go and put all their hard work out there. I'm happy for them. I want to thank and congratulate each and every one of them. Everybody has a role. Everybody has a job. And those jobs are critical."

▶️ Full Patriots-Bills Recap

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The Patriots know better than most that a coach doesn't need to have a warm, personable demeanor in order to be a winner. Bill Belichick didn't try to make any friends in New England, and he helped the franchise capture six Super Bowl titles.

Belichick's replacement, however, served as an example of how it can be tough to recover when you start to lose the locker room.

Despite having already worked on the staff, Jerod Mayo never seemed to click with his players upon becoming the head coach. What was supposed to be a long-term succession plan ended after just one year.

The Vrabel era got off to a somewhat shaky start as the Pats dropped two of their first three games. That Week 1 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders is only looking worse.

But now New England just a game back of the Bills for first place in the AFC East. Vrabel's approach might be starting to pay dividends.