SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Near the end of a sweltering training camp practice at the New England Patriots facility in late August, veteran center Garrett Bradbury was asked if he had a sense for what success might look like for the 2025 Patriots. The team was in the midst of a reset after back-to-back four-win seasons and Bradbury had signed on as a free agent months earlier.

“Honestly, no,” Bradbury said. “This is [Year] 7 for me and there’s been years where I didn’t think we would be very good, and we win a bunch of games. And vice versa.”

Five months later, Bradbury was in the locker room at Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High after the Patriots had won the AFC Championship Game. He attempted to make sense of the Patriots’ success that included a 14-3 season and now a trip to Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks in Santa Clara, California (Sunday, 6:30 p.m., NBC).

“Can you believe this?” he asked. “This is like a dream.”

Over the last year, the Patriots have made a series of calculated decisions that led to an improbable Super Bowl run.

It began with owner Robert Kraft firing first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, and hiring Mike Vrabel, who had six seasons of head coaching experience with the Tennessee Titans (2018-23). From Day 1, Vrabel had a vision of the team he wanted to build — one that was deeply rooted in team culture and connection.

That vision translated into free agency and the NFL draft, adding a group of gritty players who would end up delivering clutch on-field performances under pressure in critical games — such as a Week 5 road win over the divisional rival Buffalo Bills. Those moments, along with an MVP-caliber season by second-year quarterback Drake Maye, have been key to getting the Patriots on the Super Bowl stage faster than anyone expected — including players.

“I knew we had a young quarterback that showed a lot of potential,” receiver Stefon Diggs said about his preseason expectations. “… At that point, I probably wouldn’t have been able to say, ‘We’re probably going to go to the Super Bowl.’ I wasn’t betting on that. I was betting on just attaching myself and hoping my teammates attach themselves to the process of winning.”

Executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said he could see early on that what Vrabel was building was working.

“After like two weeks, when the players got here in the offseason, I was like, ‘All right, Mike’s going to be able to flip this.’ But I didn’t know how quickly it would happen,” Wolf said. “It happened very quickly. And obviously, you know, the results are here. Maybe quicker than some expected.”

The Patriots one-year turnaround is anchored by five pivotal moments that explain exactly how they’ve succeeded.

Kraft’s bold pivot

It happened fast.

About one hour after the 2024 regular-season finale on Jan. 5, 2025, Kraft fired Mayo following a 4-13 roller-coaster season that ended with two sparsely attended home games. Some fans were seen wearing paper bags over their heads in the stands, showing their displeasure.

The next day, Kraft kept his remarks brief, saying he put Mayo in an untenable position.

“This whole situation is on me,” he said, bringing his right hand to his chest and patting it twice. “Now I have to go out and find a coach who can get us back to the playoffs and hopefully championships.”

Kraft said he went back and forth in December 2024 on the decision to fire Mayo. One factor he had to consider was Vrabel, who spent a year as an offensive assistant with the Cleveland Browns after being fired by the Titans, interviewed for the rival New York Jets’ head coaching vacancy on Jan. 3.

As a result, the 32-year owner swiftly hired Vrabel, who had won three Super Bowl championships as a linebacker in New England from 2001-08, on Jan. 12, 2025.

As soon as his introductory news conference, Vrabel mapped out his plans for galvanizing the Patriots back to winning, saying, “We want to treat every player the same way they treat the team, and we want to treat every employee the same way they treat the team.” He wanted a program that supported players and was one they’d be proud to fight for. One of the guiding philosophies: “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Hiring an experienced staff of assistants that were aligned with that vision was critical, many of whom had been with Vrabel in Tennessee. Vice president of football operations and strategy John Streicher was Vrabel’s right-hand man with the Titans, and his presence was mandatory for Vrabel. Likewise with vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden, who joined the front office under Wolf.

Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was another key hire given the presence of Maye, who Vrabel said was a primary factor in why he coveted the job.

Those quick decisions and the ones that would follow are the foundation of the Patriots’ success.

“From Day 1, [Vrabel] set that standard, that culture, and he brought in guys to help him with that message,” linebacker Harold Landry III said. “Vrabel is at the forefront of it all.”

Cashing in on free agency

At the 2025 NFL combine, Vrabel was clear about the Patriots’ upcoming free agency plan.

“I like to shop like everybody else. When you go and there’s only one certain car, maybe you have to pay a little more for that one car,” he said.

Defensive tackle Milton Williams turned out to be that “certain car” for the Patriots; his four-year, $104 million contract was a team record, highlighting an aggressive theme from Vrabel & Co. in restocking the roster with a multiyear vision in mind because of shaky drafts in prior seasons.

And while Williams has been the engine powering a defense leading the Patriots through the playoffs, there have been plenty of passengers alongside him.

The Patriots spent $209 million in guaranteed money on free agents, the most of any team in the NFL last offseason.

Of the 17 players the Patriots committed guaranteed money, 15 remain with the team — most in key roles. The exceptions are veteran offensive lineman Wes Schweitzer (retired) and safety Marcus Epps (released), who accounted for a combined $650,000 in guaranteed money.

They can now become the second straight team to win the Super Bowl after spending the most guaranteed money in free agency in the previous offseason, following the 2024 Eagles, who spent $275 million guaranteed on free agents. Williams, whose contract included $63 million guaranteed, was on that Eagles team and starred in Super Bowl LIX with two sacks of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

“When you look at free agency, you have to get the right people. They have to be talented but they have to be made of the right stuff. Their bones are good,” Vrabel said. “That’s the challenge you wage in free agency sometimes and we were very intentional about the people we wanted, and the type of people we wanted to make commitments to.”

Many of the free agents the Patriots signed were players the staff was already familiar with.

Veteran cornerback Carlton Davis III ($34.5 million guaranteed) played for the Detroit Lions in 2024, where current DC Terrell Williams was the defensive line coach. Landry ($26 million) spent the first six years of his career playing for Vrabel in Tennessee. Linebacker Robert Spillane ($20.6 million) broke into the NFL with Vrabel’s Titans as an undrafted rookie.

Then there was the task of finding a proven receiver who would elevate the offense.

The Patriots hoped to add Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin, but Godwin chose to stay in Tampa for significantly less than the $30 million per season the Patriots were offering.

Vrabel had stressed the importance of being able to pivot in those situations, and it led them to Diggs ($26 million). That came with risk, as Diggs, then 31, was returning from a torn right ACL sustained in October 2024. But the reward was a bonanza — not only did Diggs lead the team with 85 receptions for 1,013 yards, but his competitive spirit resonated in an early-season pregame speech when he said, “We all we got, we all we need,” which became a team rallying cry.

“I think some of the guys that we brought in — Spillane, Diggs, Milton Williams — have really shown these other guys what they can be capable of,” Wolf said of the free agent class after the AFC Championship Game.

Offensive tackle Morgan Moses (three years, $24 million), receiver Mack Hollins (two years, $8.4 million), edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson (one year, $3 million) and Bradbury (two years, $9.5 million) also turned out to be shrewd under-the-radar signings.

Reflecting his view of the Patriots’ depleted roster last February, and why such an aggressive approach was needed, Vrabel said: “Free agency is usually about compensation and opportunity. We’re in a position to offer both.”

He had also cautioned at the time that there would likely be some signings that didn’t work out, which was one of the few times Vrabel has been off the mark in a year he was named AP Coach of the Year.

“There’s not a guy in that free agency class we didn’t hit on,” said Moses, who at 34 is the team’s oldest player and delivered a season of “superb” play in Vrabel’s view.

“That’s kudos to the front office. That’s kudos to Coach Vrabel [for] doing his due diligence. It’s been a great collaboration throughout all of us. Every guy that came in has played a significant part and role. And also as people in the locker room grooming the younger guys as well.”

History, hero, heartbreak and hope

On April 7, 2025, Vrabel introduced a team-building exercise during the Patriots’ voluntary offseason program that would stay with each player throughout the season.

It was his top priority to build connection between teammates and the staff, so he took an idea he learned from former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski and he stepped in front of the team to share his four H’s:

1. History — Where do you come from?

2. Hero — Who do you look up to?

3. Heartbreak — What is your greatest heartbreak?

4. Hope — What is your greatest hope?

“There was no real direction other than ‘I’ll go first and we’ll see where it goes.’ I was nervous. It was my first time speaking like that and speaking candidly about me and some things that are pretty personal,” Vrabel recalled.

The four H’s have been credited by players with helping to create a close-knit team.

“When we first heard we were going to do these four H’s, and kind of get up there and share our stories, guys didn’t really know how it was going to go, what it would look like,” linebacker Jack Gibbens said. “But Coach Vrabes got up there first, and he really opened up. I think when everybody saw that, we saw how cool this could be and get to know each other that way.”

The four H’s usually came near the end of the week, with one hour of meeting time devoted to them. While mostly an offseason project, it continued into the start of training camp when rookies were included. Players sent in pictures, and once those were uploaded, they knew they were in the queue to be called upon by Vrabel.

As many as five or six players shared their four H’s in a single day, their names picked out of a coffee mug.

“Every time that coffee mug came out, I knew I was going to hear somebody’s story, an inspiring story,” running back Rhamondre Stevenson said. “All of them just made me respect my teammates more. I knew what they went through, their trials and tribulations. It makes it that much more special — you know who you’re fighting with on that field.”

Before the Patriots departed for the Super Bowl last week, Maye referenced the four H’s to the team, bringing it full circle.

“At the beginning of the [year], we talked about our stories and what hopes we had — a lot of our hopes was to win the Super Bowl,” Maye said. “And look where we’re at now. All those hopes are coming to a reality.”

Building for the future at the NFL draft

The Patriots had 11 selections in the 2025 NFL draft, and a trip to Baton Rouge in the days leading up to the draft solidified their first move — selecting offensive tackle Will Campbell with the No. 4 pick.

“Whenever Vrabes came down for my private workout, that was probably the fourth time we had been around each other. I knew what was at stake,” Campbell said.

Vrabel sensed from the moment he stepped on LSU’s campus that Campbell “wanted to show us that he was the guy.” Then Campbell quickly found a way to Vrabel’s football heart by knocking him on his backside while they worked on cutoff blocks, before taking Vrabel and the other eight Patriots executives, scouts and coaches to his favorite restaurant — Phil’s Oyster Bar & Seafood Restaurant.

Old LSU jerseys adorn the walls at Phil’s, where chargrilled oysters are devoured. Campbell was such a regular that he casually references the name of owner Anthony Piazza as if he’s a longtime friend.

Those types of connections matter to Vrabel.

“I just like what he’s about — everything he stands for, what he believes in,” Vrabel said.

Campbell, 22, has been the tone-setter for a draft class in which every player is on the team’s 53-man roster, along with four undrafted free agents. He has been a Day 1 starter at left tackle and comic relief every Friday in delivering the team’s “Weekend Update” — a no-holds-barred, joke-filled speech that has become a team staple.

Running back TreVeyon Henderson, a second-round pick from Ohio State, became the first Patriots player with multiple games in a season with 50-plus-yard touchdown runs.

Safety Craig Woodson, a fourth-round pick from Cal, led the defense in snaps played (94%) and was pinpointed by Landry as the player on defense who deserves more recognition.

Rookie kicker Andy Borregales (sixth round) finished 27-of-32 on field goals and 53-of-55 on point-after attempts, with his 52-yard game-winning kick late in the fourth quarter of a Week 5 win over the Bills cited by teammates as one of the top plays of the year.

“This rookie class has been awesome,” Campbell said. “We have a bunch of great dudes who contribute a lot on the field, but you can see what type of human beings they were looking for.”

Of the 38 teams to play in the Super Bowl since 2007, when ESPN began tracking snap-count data, the Patriots’ 18.2% of snaps played by rookies is the highest among that group. Campbell and third-round pick Jared Wilson (left guard) will become the first rookies to start on the same offensive line in a Super Bowl.

Moses, in his 12th NFL season, credited the rookie class for its humbleness.

Sixth-year safety Jaylinn Hawkins added: “They came in and executed on a high level. Real mature. A lot of rookies don’t come in like that.”

The day everything clicked

On Oct. 5, 2025, in a Week 5 game against the Bills in Orchard Park, New York, something clicked for the Patriots — and it changed the trajectory of the season.

They were 2-2, having alternated wins and losses in the first month of the season.

But the Sunday night road game against the five-time defending AFC East champions would be a true measuring stick.

The Patriots controlled the first two quarters but led only 6-3 at halftime. Then the Bills scored on the opening drive of the second half and Highmark Stadium was shaking as the crowd roared … only to have Maye deliver an unexpected knockout punch that included arguably his best throw of the season — an off-platform 32-yard dart to Diggs along the right sideline that might ultimately be remembered as the play in which he announced his arrival to the NFL.

“I think that was the epitome of “Road Warriors.” That really started it,” said Maye, whose exemplary second-half performance (13-of-14 for 184 yards) helped the Patriots shock the Bills 23-20 on Borregales’ 52-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining.

“That mentality of winning one in Buffalo, where they had a streak of [14] home wins at that time. Just knowing that our identity and what we play with, it’s not always going to be pretty on the road, and trusting ourselves, that belief didn’t waver. It started the ‘Road Warriors’ mentality and we’ve carried it since then.”

The Patriots went on to become the first team in NFL history to post a 9-0 record on the road, capturing their first division title since the 2019 season.

Wolf said that was the time he noticed a shift within the team from “waiting for something bad to happen to, ‘I’m going to go make a play.'”

Maye recalled relief and exhaustion in the postgame locker room, a reminder of “what it takes to win a game like that, against a playoff team.”

Meanwhile, coaches, such as wide receivers coach Todd Downing, felt a growing connection between players and the staff.

“The Buffalo game kind of galvanized our players’ belief in what we were asking them to do,” he said. “Up to that point, we were kind of finding our way. Vrabes does such a good job at casting the ways of what it is going to take to win each week and trusting his staff to go out and paint the picture offensively, defensively and special teams.

“I think players saw, ‘These guys are steering us in the right direction.’ Going into a hostile environment that early in the process, I think it galvanized everyone’s belief that we’re heading in the right direction; if we tighten this up a little bit, we can win some games.”

That was the second win of a streak that climbed to 10 in a row, the team benefiting at times from one of the NFL’s easiest schedules as a result of its last-place finish in 2024.

The streak was snapped in a rematch against the Bills in Week 15. Losing a 17-point halftime lead sparked questions about whether the Patriots had peaked. But they responded the following game in Baltimore by erasing an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to post a 28-24 victory behind some magical work from Maye.

They haven’t lost since, with the defense leading the charge in the playoffs and into Super Bowl LX.

Bradbury, the veteran center who spent the first six years of his career with the Vikings, said he recently checked his notebook to revisit a message that McDaniels had shared in a late November unit meeting:

“We can do this!”

McDaniels then showed the offense video of how championship teams practice and play.

“You still have a process of focusing on 1-0 each week, but you acknowledge what’s ahead, which I think is unique,” Bradbury said.

“So you always think it’s possible. Then you’re in it, and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, it is, it is.’ Now we’re here.”