Rob Gronkowski is an animated guy under normal circumstances, but when talk turns to the New England Patriots, Gronk seems to turn it up a notch.
The Fox NFL Sunday studio analyst has had plenty of advice for his old team recently, and he chimed in again Sunday after New England hired Mike Vrabel as its new head coach.
Vrabel has a tall task ahead of him rebuilding the Patriots, and Gronkowski offered a suggestion.
“Let me tell you, Patriots fans are thrilled,” Gronkowski said. “This guy is going to keep everyone accountable in the organization, from the coaching staff to the players.”
“If I’m Mike Vrabel, the first thing I would do is call up and dial up the number of Josh McDaniels, a familiar foe to Patriots fans and hire him as the offensive coordinator as soon as possible.”
Gronkowski obviously meant “familiar face” instead of “familiar foe,” but he made a nice point about bringing back McDaniels, who served as the team’s offensive coordinator from 2012-2021. Gronk played seven seasons under McDaniels.
Gronk has been on a roll with his Patriots takes the past couple of weeks. On the final Sunday of the regular season, he torched the Patriots for firing Jerod Mayo after only one year, saying he was “shocked,” and it was “unfair” to Mayo. And then, just when it seemed Gronkowski might keep going and call out team owner Robert Kraft, the show suddenly cut to a commercial break.
McDaniels isn’t the only former Patriots star now in the media who has been outspoken about his old team. Saturday, ESPN’s Tedy Bruschi lobbied hard on Sunday NFL Countdown for the team to hire Vrabel.
“I gotta say something about my former team the New England Patriots, who have been absolutely a mess the last couple years in how they’ve handled things,” Bruschi said. “The only way to fix this is to hire Mike Vrabel.”
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.