Good mailbag this week, with questions about coaching staffs, roster hypotheticals, and much more. Let’s get to it. I’m curious, who has the final say on hiring assistant coaches? Vrabel has an “all-star” staff of coaches, while Mayo was allowed to hire a lot of first-timers. Was he set up to fail?

Speaking in New Orleans, Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez said that a "lax" Patriots team might have cost them in 2024.

The "Patriot Way" was a phrase we heard a lot during New England's dynasty, with the team winning six Super Bowls over a span of two decades. The exit of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady changed the identity of the team, but at least one player is expecting those old ways to come back with the addition of their new head coach.

Because if we do that, and we get the ball back to Drake a lot more times, I feel like we could have won a lot more of those games.” Gonzalez is a solid player in his own right, having been named an All-Pro this season.

But despite Gonzalez returning to the field and playing at a high level, the Patriots finished with just four wins for the second straight season. “It was tough, but honestly I