Patriots' Mike Vrabel wants to end 'entitlement,' but insists he's not Bill Belichick

When Mike Vrabel began his post-NFL playing career as an assistant coach at Ohio State in 2011, he had thoughts of one day returning to the New England Patriots.

He also knew that if that was ever going to happen, he first needed to leave Foxborough.

"I think it was important for me to go somewhere else, to start another coaching journey," Vrabel said, who played for New England from 2001-08. "The opportunity at some point probably presented itself to be here coaching. But I feel like it was important for me to forge my own path somewhere else."

He did that. And now he's back where he's had his most success on the football field — this time charged with returning it to the championship glory he first experienced as a player.

Vrabel was introduced as New England's 16th head coach on Monday, the first step in team owner Robert Kraft's latest attempt to make good on his promise to restore the six-time Super Bowl champion Patriots to contender status.

"If all those experiences led me back here at the right time, at the right opportunity, then that was going to be what was meant be," Vrabel said.

[Related: Why Mike Vrabel faces a massive task in rebuilding Patriots ]

Vrabel's hiring ends a swift search process that followed the firing of Jerod Mayo last week that included interviews with former offensive coordinators Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton, and current Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

Kraft said it was Vrabel's vision that stood out.

"In the interview process Mike showed us that he had a deep understanding of our current team. And more importantly, he had a clear and focused strategy of how to get us back to a championship way," Kraft said.

As a player familiar with the "Patriot Way"