FOXBOROUGH - Mike Vrabel hired Ekene Olekanma to help beef up the Patriots analytics department. Officially, Olekanma, who had been with the 49ers as a football research and development coordinator, will be the Director of Coaching Analytics.

After laying out some serious dollars to fortify their defensive front, Mike Vrabel is hoping for a return on the Patriots’ expenditures.

The defensive end, who made it clear at the end of the 2024 season he was unhappy with the general direction of the team, sounds excited the franchise swapped out Jerod Mayo and added Mike Vrabel as the head coach. “Now, I feel like I have a coach,” White said after Tuesday’s minicamp session inside the Dana Farber Field House.