Mike Vrabel spoke to the media for the last time before Super Bowl LX on Thursday morning in Satna Clara. (AP photo)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The rest of the NFL thinks the New England Patriots are in good hands.

Head coach Mike Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels were named Head Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year at the NFL Honors on Thursday.

Vrabel, of course, can get his first Super Bowl title as a head coach Sunday if the Patriots beat the Seahawks. He received 19 first-place votes to Coen’s 16 and finished with 302 points.

Vrabel, the 2021 Coach of the Year winner with the Titans, led the Patriots from worst to first in the AFC East, a 10-win turnaround in his first season in New England. He is the seventh NFL coach to win Coach of the Year with two different teams.

Meanwhile, McDaniels’ career got a big boost on Thursday evening as he was named NFL Assistant Coach of The Year.

McDaniels rejoined the Patriots for a third stint as offensive coordinator after the Patriots fired former head coach Jerod Mayo after one season and replaced him with Mike Vrabel. McDaniels had not been with a team since the Las Vegas Raiders fired him as head coach midway through the 2023 season.

“Josh has done a fantastic job, and usually any coach’s success or recognition is going to come from the fact that the players executed, they played well and they did what was coached,” Vrabel said. “And sometimes that happens and sometimes it doesn’t, but I would be extremely excited and happy for Josh if he were to win….”

Josh McDaniels, shown at Thurday’s Patriots media availability, was named NFL Assistant Coach of the Year at the NFL Honors on Thurday evening inSan Francisco. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

MAYE CAN GUESS AT THE CHANGE

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye gave his final media availability on Thursday and says he thinks he knows the point when the team became a next-level winner.

Kinda sorta thinks he knows.

“I think it’s hard to maybe pinpoint one exact point,” he said. “I know probably the win on the road at Buffalo was huge for us. I think just finding a way to win that game against a tough opponent on the road, a team that’s been historically great in playoffs, had a home game win streak and being able to win there.

“But really other than that, I think just the continued success on the road has been huge for us. Continued success on the road and trying to find a way to do it one more time here.”

Maye also said he feels fine, meaning no issues with his throwing shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m really excited. A chance to play in this game is a dream come true and what you work for all year long,” he said. “Like I said, I’m not trying to lie to you guys. I’m saying I’m feeling great. I’m feeling great and looking forward to getting out there today. Another day of practice, got one tomorrow and feeling pretty good.”

It’s been a different experience for him and his teammates, playing in their first Super Bowl.

“Yeah, favorite part of this week is just being with teammates, just being in the hotel for a week, getting to experience a lot of time,” he said. “We had the O-line dinner last night, and it’s an experience. You feel like you’re kind of living with your best friends again in college, in training camp, back in high school. You feel like you’re just around your teammates 24-7. It’s something that makes the experience just more special.”

Maye was asked if he had talked with other NFL quarterbacks about how to handle the Super Bowl, especially the game and the long halftime. But he’s actually leaned more on offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for that.

“Yeah, I think Coach McDaniels has probably been the best with experiencing that,” Maye said. “Coaching so many quarterbacks, really just one quarterback in this game for so long and just knowing the emotions of even just running out there the first time and how cool the moment is. But at the same time, how much you’re like, ‘Man, this is it. This is what we’re here for.’ “Like I said before in here, Peyton [Manning] reached out to me after Denver and had some good tips about trying to keep my rhythm, my schedule the same. But really, other than that, just trying to do whatever I can, one more time, one more week. We have two weeks of prep and got a couple days here now to do whatever I can in this time to kind of fine tune things, dot the I’s, cross the T’s and get ready for the game.”

NOTES

Patriots have one more day of regular practice today (Friday) but theirs and the Seahawks media availability has ended…

Patriot coach Mike Vrabel said the team will have pictures taken with family members but they won’t be doing it at the site of the game, Levi Stadium.