Considering the two played together in New England for eight seasons, Mike Vrabel may have expected his former quarterback Tom Brady to throw his support behind Vrabel’s Patriots this past February as they returned to the Super Bowl.
Instead, Brady, who has purchased a stake in the Las Vegas Raiders and joined Fox Sports since retiring from the NFL, claimed ahead of the big game that he did not have a “dog in the fight.”
Brady’s comments certainly riled up New England sports fans, and he later backtracked. But in an interview with WEEI in Boston this week, Vrabel said he was not insulted.
“Clearly Tom’s gone out of his way to make it known that … he has a new job and a new role and, you know, it is really what it is,” Vrabel said. “Tom’s a friend; he’ll always be a friend. He was a former teammate, but, I mean, he’s made it clear, like, ‘I’m doing something new now.'”
“When he (Tom Brady) said, HE DIDN’T HAVE A DOG IN THE FIGHT, in the Super Bowl, did that bother you?” Patriots HC Mike Vrabel joins live! Does Vrabel think Brady spoke to Seattle HC Mike Macdonald? #fyp#NFL#news#Patriotspic.twitter.com/PqWZjiD0Jf
— WEEI (@WEEI) August 14, 2026
Vrabel rejoined the Patriots last season as head coach and led the team back to the Super Bowl in his first season. The former linebacker played with Brady from 2001-08, winning three Super Bowls.
Brady left the Patriots in 2020 to sign with Tampa Bay, where he won another Super Bowl. After two retirements, Brady signed a record $375 million contract to call games for Fox and bought a reported 5 percent stake in the Raiders.
However, Brady’s unusual status as both a broadcaster and a part owner has led to controversy — including around the Super Bowl. Seattle’s Mike Macdonald, who beat Vrabel and the Patriots, recently revealed he gathered intel from someone around the Patriots before the game.
While Macdonald later clarified that the person was not Brady, WEEI asked Vrabel whether he believed the two had spoken.
“Probably,” Vrabel said. “He hired his offensive coordinator. I mean, that’s not why we lost the game.”
Brady and the Raiders hired Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak as head coach during the offseason. Macdonald also worked the 2021 season at Michigan, Brady’s alma mater.
While Vrabel did not take the bait to treat Brady’s role as an excuse for getting crushed in the Super Bowl, he didn’t exactly endorse Brady’s rush to move on from New England.
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