Bruins
“I think the Patriots and us as fans — and the media — are going to be really happy to have a guy like that.”
New Bruins head coach Marco Sturm is just a few weeks away from opening up his first training camp as Boston’s bench boss.
But the first-year head coach made the switch from the rink to the gridiron on Wednesday, as Sturm was a guest of Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel during New England’s practice at Gillette Stadium.
“It’s been great. It’s been a long time,” Sturm said of making the trek to Foxborough. “I think the last time I’ve been here, I was a player with the Bruins — so over 20 years ago. Things are definitely nicer, bigger.
“But, yeah, it’s just nice for me to see — you can see already that it’s getting a little bit more intense now. The season opener is pretty soon. … You can tell guys are focused and guys are getting ready to go.”
Both Sturm and Vrabel are going to be handed similar tasks when it comes to trying to right the ship for their respective teams.
While Vrabel has more experience as a head coach after coaching the Titans from 2018-23, he has his work cut out for him when it comes to building up a New England roster that posted just four wins in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024.
So far, Sturm has been impressed with what he’s seen from Vrabel as he begins his first year at the helm in Foxborough.
“It was great. I mean, the first time I met him was today. Really good. Seems like a really good football guy, lots of energy, ready to work every day,” Sturm said. “I remember him as a player, and I feel like that’s exactly how he coaches, too. So I think the Patriots and us as fans — and the media — are going to be really happy to have a guy like that.”
Sturm also has a sizable undertaking in front of him as well when it comes to building up a new core in Boston — especially after the Bruins bottomed out last season with a 33-39-10 record.
Given the state of the respective rosters in Foxborough and Boston, Sturm stressed the importance of having an intense coach like Vrabel in place ahead of a season that should have some expected growing pains.
“You still need a guy who pushes you every day,” Sturm said. “Seems like in every sport, the athletes are getting younger and younger. So it’s a little bit up to the leadership group and also up to the coaches, up to us, to push those guys every day.”
Sturm is not the first Boston coach to make a pit stop over at Foxborough this summer, as Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla also made an appearance during training camp in July.
“Joe is fantastic,” Vrabel said of Mazzulla in July. “We’re probably different personalities, and that’s what I appreciate most about him. He’s always trying to learn and gain knowledge, different ways about building a team, about strategy, about scheme, and inspiring players to do their job better.”
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