Patriots Trouble in Paradise: Josh McDaniels and Mike Vrabel not on the same page with AJ Brown situation

Last season, everything went the New England Patriots ' way. They rode those sky-high vibes all the way to the Super Bowl in Mike Vrabel 's debut season as head coach, inspiring a ton of confidence for the team's future.

But the 2026 season is already looking like a massive crash back down to Earth. First, Vrabel's scandalous drama with The Athletic reporter Dianna Russini dominated national headlines all offseason. This week, the team looked set to catch a break, with Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold getting injured early in their Week 1 matchup. But Patriots quarterback Drake Maye struggled mightily, and the team lost 13-10 .

Making matters much worse was superstar wide receiver A.J. Brown , who the team traded for in the offseason, exiting that Week 1 game with an ankle injury. On Saturday, it was announced that Brown is being placed on Injured Reserve , knocking him out for at least the next four games. That was, apparently, news to Vrabel's close assistant, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels .

Josh McDaniels finds out AJ Brown is going to IR during live interview

McDaniels found out the news about Brown while he was being interviewed by local radio hosts Adam Jones and Rich Keefe . McDaniels' reaction was live and unfiltered: " That's interesting. We weren't in today, so I haven't quite heard all that stuff ."

It's a bit odd that the coach responsible for making the offense succeed didn't know his top pass-catching weapon was set to be placed on IR. Technically, Eliot Wolf is the one who has the final say on roster decisions, although Vrabel is surely involved in some capacity.

After a disastrous showing from the offense in Week 1, plus this odd interview moment, McDaniels' seat might be getting just slightly warm.