Appearing at Fanatics Fest, which was a multi-day festival for sports fans held in New York City, ESPN’s NFL Insider Adam Schefter sat down for an interview with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Schefter asked Kraft about his expectations for the Patriots moving forward after two of the worst seasons for New England in recent memory.
Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Sets Expectations for Team and Mike Vrabel
In the clip, Schefter asks about Kraft’s expectations and new Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
“Please tell Patriot fans some of your expectations for your new head coach and the team he’s assembling right now,” Schefter said. Vrabel, a former Patriots linebacker, was head coach of the Tennessee Titans.
“Well… Any Patriot fans that are out there, I can tell you I’m very excited about this upcoming season,” Kraft said. “The last two years were the worst years of my 31 years of ownership.
“We have to change that,” Kraft said. “We have a new coach in Mike Vrabel who’s really connected with the players, who’s doing great work. We have a young quarterback (Drake Maye) and a lot of great veterans, free agent veterans who came in, a great draft class. We’re gonna have fun this year, I promise.”
Patriots owner Robert Kraft: “The last two years were the worst 31 years of my ownership. We have to change that.”
More with Kraft, plus a conversation with @realchriswebber:
🎧 https://t.co/eHJQ5WCiKJ pic.twitter.com/LcphVY2YOH
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 25, 2025
Kraft bought the team in January 1994. In the ensuing NFL season, New England, under Bill Belichick’s leadership, went 10-6 and lost in the NFL wild-card round. The Patriots followed that up with a 6-10 season. But, in Kraft’s third season of ownership, the Patriots went to the Super Bowl, only to lose to the Green Bay Packers.
Kraft also mentioned Maye and cited other offseason additions, including wide receiver Stefon Diggs. There’s been some off-field controversy surrounding Diggs. When he’s on the field, though, Diggs will serve as WR1 for the Patriots and Maye.
As for the NFL draft class, the Patriots took offensive lineman Will Campbell in the first round to help shore up a putrid offensive line, running back TreVeyon Henderson to potentially take over the backfield, wide receiver Kyle Williams to add more explosiveness, and more.
Kraft’s comments on the past two seasons being the worst in years are not unfounded. New England won just four games in each of the past two seasons under Belichick and Jerod Mayo as head coaches. Those are the fewest number of wins they’ve had in a single season since Kraft became owner.
“And you said it was the worst two years of your 31 years of ownership?” Schefter asked.
“Thirty-one years of ownership,” Kraft said. “I’m very proud, you know, we never won a playoff… There was only one home playoff game in 34 years. I sat in the stands, 1978, Earl Campbell ran for over 100 yards, and we lost. One playoff game. We’ve owned the team 31 years. We’ve had 27 home playoff games, and we’re privileged to win 23. I want that record to keep going.”
The last Patriots’ home playoff game win came in the NFL divisional round of the 2018 season, a 41-28 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, before moving on to play the Kansas City Chiefs on the road in the AFC Championship game. New England then beat the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl.
Since then, the Patriots haven’t won a playoff game and have had losing seasons in four of the past six NFL seasons.