A head coach will go to any length to defend his players, even if it means insulting a member of the media, like Patriots boss Mike Vrabel did on Thursday when asked about Stefon Diggs.

Vrabel got into a heated exchange with NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry after Diggs made public comments about possibly not being ready for the regular season.

Diggs said he felt ‘great’ but also stated ‘we’ll see about Week 1,’ in an interview with The Athletic.

Diggs and Vrabel are both in their first years in their current positions, as New England’s head coach and top wide receiver, with plenty of doubts on the organization after two bad years.

The exchange started with Perry asking Vrabel directly about Diggs, due to a policy of not having the 32-year-old wideout speak with the local media until after he has appeared in a game for the team.

‘Did you really believe that, Phil? I mean, you’re a smart guy. I don’t know where you went to school – it wasn’t Ohio State. But like, do you really believe that? Do you really believe that, Phil, or are you just trying to bait me into something?’

‘I’m not baiting you into anything,’ Perry retorted. ‘[Diggs] did say he wasn’t sure he’d be ready for Week 1.’

Vrabel then said he was not sure about the context of Diggs’ comments and pointed to him being a participant for most of training camp.

‘I’m excited of where he’s at and we’ll see when Week 1 comes, but he’s going to practice today,’ Vrabel added. ‘Hopefully, he helps us in the red zone, but we can’t predict the future about Week 1. I just know he’s going to be out there today, and he works hard and he cares, which are two important things.’

Perry later reported that Diggs may be a ‘pain in the posterior’ to the organization, with the Patriots investing in a 3-year, $63.5million contract with him, while he is coming off a torn ACL while playing for the Houston Texans a year ago.

Diggs could make his Patriots debut on Saturday, as New England plays his former team, the Minnesota Vikings.