No, Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye aren’t Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, and will never be. But having Vrabel and Maye in place together is a terrific building block for the Patriots.

Those around the league seem to know it, too.

“An AFC East scout described Vrabel and Maye as a ‘deadly combination’ and said it’s ‘scary’ to see the Patriots putting the right pieces in place, including (Eliot) Wolf and vice president of player personnel (Ryan) Cowden,” the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed wrote in a story published this past weekend. “One team source called Vrabel and Maye ‘the best things going’ for the Patriots.”

Getting the coach-quarterback tandem right is one of the toughest tasks to master in the NFL. The Patriots faltered in that regard in recent years, and they are far from the only team in the league to do so.

A post-prime Cam Newton was never the answer and Mac Jones and Belichick butting heads made the offense sink even deeper into ineptitude. Replacing Belichick with Jerod Mayo wasn’t the answer, either.

But perhaps the biggest positive to come out of last season’s abysmal 4-13 campaign was the potential Maye showed as a rookie. The 22-year-old flashed his playmaking ability with his arm and legs in 12 starts. He threw for 2,276 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while also rushing for 421 yards and two scores.

Now, Maye has a coach guiding him who, exactly, has a clue. And if Vrabel and company can get the best out of Maye going forward, the Patriots might have what they need to return to NFL relevancy in the near future.