Mike Vrabel

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Michael George Vrabel (Script error: No such module "IPAc-en". Script error: No such module "Respell".; born August 14, 1975) is an American professional football coach and former linebacker who is the head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, twice receiving All-American honors. Vrabel was selected in the third round of the 1997 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he spent his first four seasons. Vrabel then played his next eight seasons with the Patriots, earning Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro selections in 2007, along with winning three Super Bowl titles. In his final two seasons, he was a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.

After retiring as a player following the 2010 season, Vrabel was the linebackers and defensive line coach at Ohio State for three seasons. His NFL coaching career began in 2014 with the Houston Texans as linebackers coach and then defensive coordinator, before becoming head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2018. During his time in Tennessee, Vrabel led the team to three consecutive playoff appearances, two consecutive division titles, and an AFC Championship Game appearance in 2019, the franchise's first since 2002. He was also named NFL Coach of the Year in 2021 after helping the Titans obtain their conference's top seed for the first time since 2008. Following his departure from Tennessee, Vrabel was a consultant for the Cleveland Browns in 2024 before becoming the Patriots' head coach the following season. In his first season with New England, he led them to their first division title since 2019.

Early life

Vrabel was born on August 14, 1975, in Akron, Ohio.[1] He is a 1993 graduate of Walsh Jesuit High School in nearby Cuyahoga Falls, where he was a standout on their football team coached by Gerry Rardin.[2]

Playing career

College

Vrabel accepted an athletic scholarship to attend Ohio State University and played defensive end from 1993 to 1996.[3] He compiled 10 sacks as a sophomore, 12 as a junior, and 48 tackles and nine sacks as a senior.[4]

As a senior in 1996, Vrabel was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American. He finished his career at Ohio State by being named the Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year in both 1995 and 1996, becoming the first of two players to ever win the award twice (Wendell Bryant of Wisconsin being the other). Vrabel accumulated 36 sacks and 66 tackles for a loss.[5]

Vrabel was named to the Ohio State Football All-Century Team in 2000, and was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.[6]

National Football League

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
Template:NFL predraft/check Template:NFL predraft/check Template:NFL predraft/check Template:NFL predraft/check 4.93 s 1.70 s 2.88 s 4.43 s 7.77 s Template:NFL predraft/check Template:NFL predraft/check 23 reps
All values from NFL Combine[7][8]

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Pittsburgh Steelers

Vrabel was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round (91st overall) of the 1997 NFL draft.[9] He spent the first four seasons of his career in Pittsburgh. Vrabel's most notable play as a Steeler came in his rookie season after strip-sacking Drew Bledsoe in the 1997–98 AFC Divisional Playoffs to clinch a 7–6 victory for the Steelers and advance them to the AFC Championship Game.[10] Vrabel had 12 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 1998; nine tackles and two sacks in 1999; and 15 tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery in 2000.

New England Patriots

File:Super Bowl 2008 - XLII with Mike Vrabel (cropped).JPG
Vrabel in 2008

Vrabel joined the New England Patriots as a free agent in 2001.[11] He played in every game on defense, starting in 12. Vrabel would occasionally come in as an eligible receiver, lining up as a tight end. Bill Belichick took advantage of this in 2004 in Super Bowl XXXVIII. In the fourth quarter, Tom Brady threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Vrabel, making Vrabel the first defensive player to score a Super Bowl touchdown on offense since William "Refrigerator" Perry did so for the Chicago Bears against the Patriots in 1986's Super Bowl XX.[12] Vrabel was one of the defensive stars as well; he had two sacks (one forcing a fumble) of Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme.[13]

During Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005, Vrabel caught a two-yard touchdown pass despite being held by the Eagles' Jevon Kearse, a feat pictured on the cover of the 2005 NFL Record and Fact Book.[14] The reception made him one of 17 players to catch two or more touchdown passes in Super Bowls.[15]

Vrabel finished with 10 career receptions in just 14 targets, all for touchdowns.[11] He caught one in 2002, two in 2004, three in 2005, and two in 2007 in the regular season, and one each in Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX, all with the Patriots, and one each in 2009 and 2010 with the Chiefs (thrown by former Patriot Matt Cassel). In addition to his 12 total receiving touchdowns on offense, Vrabel recorded his only career defensive touchdown against the Panthers in Week 2 of the 2005 season when he intercepted a pass from Delhomme and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown.[16] According to the website Cold Hard Football Facts, no other player in NFL history has a better record of converting receptions to touchdowns. His versatility was good enough for NFL Network to rank him #7 on their Top 10 episode of the Most Versatile Players.

In Week 8 of the 2007 season, Vrabel forced three fumbles, had three sacks, recovered an onside kick, and scored an offensive touchdown against the Washington Redskins, for which he was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week.[17] In December 2007, he was selected to start at the Pro Bowl; in January 2008, he was named to the NFL All-Pro team for the 2007 season.[18]

On December 26, 2005, on the final Monday Night Football game on ABC, Vrabel became, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the first player—since the official recording of sacks began in 1982—to have two touchdown catches and a sack in the same game.[19]

Though right outside linebacker had been Vrabel's primary position in the Patriots' 3–4 scheme in his first four seasons with New England, in 2005 Vrabel moved to inside linebacker, because of the limited effectiveness of inside backers Monty Beisel and Chad Brown, although he had never before played inside in the NFL. By the time Tedy Bruschi returned from injury, he and Vrabel were the two men starting inside. Rosevelt Colvin successfully filled Vrabel's old spot, and many cite the change in positions as a major contributor to the Patriots' rebound in the second half of the season. Vrabel moved inside again late in the 2006 season after Junior Seau suffered a broken arm.[20]

Kansas City Chiefs

On February 27, 2009, the Patriots traded Vrabel to the Kansas City Chiefs for what was originally announced as an undisclosed draft pick.[21] The next day, it was revealed that Patriots traded both Vrabel and Matt Cassel in exchange for the Chiefs' second round pick, the 34th overall selection in the 2009 NFL draft.[22]

Vrabel played in Kansas City for two seasons before retiring.[23]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Won the Super Bowl
Bold Career high

Regular season

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles Receiving
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF FR Yds TD Rec Yds TD
1997 PIT 15 0 17 14 3 1.5 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
1998 PIT 11 0 9 6 3 2.5 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1999 PIT 10 0 5 4 1 2.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
2000 PIT 15 0 5 3 2 1.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
2001 NE 16 12 63 40 23 3.0 2 27 13.5 15 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2002 NE 16 13 82 58 24 4.5 1 0 0.0 0 0 5 0 2 0 0 1 1 1
2003 NE 13 9 52 37 15 9.5 2 18 9.0 14 0 4 4 1 0 0 0 0 0
2004 NE 16 15 71 54 17 5.5 0 0 0.0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 2
2005 NE 16 16 108 73 35 4.5 2 23 11.5 24T 1 5 1 0 0 0 3 4 3
2006 NE 16 16 89 54 35 4.5 3 0 0.0 2 0 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 0
2007 NE 16 15 77 55 22 12.5 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 2 3 2
2008 NE 16 14 62 40 22 4.0 1 5 5.0 5 0 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
2009 KC 14 14 52 43 9 2.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 6 2 1 0 0 1 1 1
2010 KC 16 16 48 30 18 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 1
Career[24] 206 140 740 511 229 57.0 11 73 6.7 24T 1 41 19 9 0 0 10 14 10

Postseason

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles Receiving
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF FR Yds TD Rec Yds TD
1997 PIT 2 0 1 1 0 1.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2001 NE 3 3 11 7 4 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2003 NE 3 3 18 15 3 3.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1
2004 NE 3 3 14 11 3 2.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 1
2005 NE 2 2 15 8 7 1.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2006 NE 3 3 20 15 5 2.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
2007 NE 3 3 6 3 3 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
2010 KC 1 1 3 0 3 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career[25] 20 18 88 60 28 9.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 3 3 2 1 0 2 3 2

Coaching career

Ohio State

Vrabel retired on July 10, 2011, to become the linebackers coach at Ohio State.[26] On December 21, new Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer decided to keep Vrabel on as part of his coaching staff as defensive line coach.[27]

Houston Texans

On January 10, 2014, Vrabel was hired by the Houston Texans as a linebackers coach.[28] During his three seasons as linebackers coach, the Texans ranked third in the NFL in yards allowed per game.[29] In January 2016, news outlets reported that the San Francisco 49ers offered Vrabel their defensive coordinator job, but he declined the offer and stayed in Houston.[30] In January 2017, the Texans named Vrabel as their defensive coordinator, moving previous coordinator Romeo Crennel to assistant head coach.[31] Vrabel coached players such as J. J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, Whitney Mercilus, and Benardrick McKinney during his tenure in Houston.[29]

Tennessee Titans

2018 season

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File:Mike Vrabel 2018.jpg
Vrabel in 2018

On January 20, 2018, Vrabel was hired as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans on a five-year deal.[32][33]

During Week 2 against the Houston Texans, Vrabel earned his first career win as a head coach as the Titans won by a score of 20–17.[34] Two weeks later, Vrabel led the Titans to a 26–23 overtime victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in a Week 4 upset.[35] During Week 10, he beat his former longtime coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in a 34–10 victory.[36]

Under Vrabel, the Titans' defense improved from the 13th-ranked defense in 2017 to the eighth-ranked defense in 2018.[29] Vrabel and the Titans narrowly missed the playoffs by one game and finished the season with a 9–7 record.[37]

2019 season

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File:Coach Mike Vrabel.jpg
Vrabel in 2019

The 2019 season saw the Titans again finish 9–7; however, this would be enough to make the playoffs as the #6-seed.[38] During a Week 6 16–0 shutout road loss to the Denver Broncos, Vrabel elected to bench quarterback Marcus Mariota in favor of Ryan Tannehill, a move that led to the Titans winning seven of their final 10 games despite starting 2–4.[39]

During the Wild Card Round, Tennessee upset the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots on the road 20–13, led by running back Derrick Henry's 204 yards from scrimmage, to advance to the Divisional Round.[40] The Titans pulled off another upset in the Divisional Round against the #1-seed Baltimore Ravens, winning on the road 28–12 behind another breakout performance from Henry with 202 scrimmage yards along with a passing touchdown on a trick play.[41] With the victory, the Titans advanced to their first AFC Championship since 2002, where they were eliminated on the road by the eventual Super Bowl LIV champion Kansas City Chiefs 35–24.[42]

2020 season

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Titans defensive coordinator Dean Pees retired on January 20, 2020, after spending the last two seasons with the team.[43] Vrabel decided not to hire a defensive coordinator for the season.[44]

After starting the season 5–0, their first since 2008, the Titans finished with an 11–5 record, improving upon their 9–7 record from the previous four years and earning their first double-digit winning season and division title since 2008.[45][46] However, the Titans lost to the Ravens 20–13 in the Wild Card Round.[47] Following the loss, Vrabel revealed that outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen was the defensive coordinator in all but the title and that Bowen made the defensive play calls.[48]

2021 season

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File:Mike Vrabel 2021.jpg
Vrabel in 2021

The Titans dealt with numerous injuries throughout the season, but were able to overcome all of them en route to a 12–5 record, a division title, and the #1-seed in the AFC.[49] The team fielded 91 players during the season (mostly due to injury and COVID-19), breaking the old NFL record of 84 held by the 2019 Miami Dolphins and 2020 San Francisco 49ers.[50]

With the division title, Vrabel helped the Titans clinch the AFC South for the second consecutive season. This would be the first time since 1960–1962 that the franchise would win their division in back-to-back seasons. However, the season ended with a 19–16 upset loss in the Divisional Round to the eventual AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals, their third-straight playoff loss dating back three seasons.[51] For his work that season, Vrabel was named the AP Coach of the Year.[52]

2022 season

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". On February 8, 2022, Vrabel and general manager Jon Robinson were given contract extensions.[53]

The Titans began the season with a 7–3 record, putting them in a prime position to secure a playoff spot. However, the team lost seven straight games and ended up missing the playoffs, finishing with a 7–10 record.[54]

2023 season

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". After the 2023 season, which ended with a 6–11 record,[55] Vrabel was fired by the Titans on January 9, 2024.[56] He finished his tenure in Tennessee with a Template:Winpct regular-season record and a Template:Winpct playoff record for a combined record of Template:Winpct.

Cleveland Browns

After not landing a coordinator or head coaching job in the offseason, Vrabel signed a one-year contract with the Cleveland Browns as a coaching and personnel consultant on March 15, 2024.[57][58]

New England Patriots

2025 season

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". On January 12, 2025, Vrabel was hired as the head coach of the New England Patriots, replacing Jerod Mayo.[59]

Vrabel coached the Patriots to a 11–2 start, giving the team its best start since 2016 and surpassing their win total for the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined.[60][61] In doing so, the Patriots won 10 games in a row, making Vrabel the first and only head coach to do so in his first season with a team while leading a team with five or fewer wins in the previous season since the AFL–NFL merger.[62] After defeating the Baltimore Ravens in Week 16, the Patriots clinched their first playoff berth since 2021.[63]

Head coaching record

Team Year Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
TEN 2018 9 7 0 Template:Winpct 3rd in AFC South — — — —
TEN 2019 9 7 0 Template:Winpct 2nd in AFC South 2 1 Template:Winpct Lost to Kansas City Chiefs in AFC Championship Game
TEN 2020 11 5 0 Template:Winpct 1st in AFC South 0 1 Template:Winpct Lost to Baltimore Ravens in AFC Wild card game
TEN 2021 12 5 0 Template:Winpct 1st in AFC South 0 1 Template:Winpct Lost to Cincinnati Bengals in AFC Divisional Game
TEN 2022 7 10 0 Template:Winpct 2nd in AFC South — — — —
TEN 2023 6 11 0 Template:Winpct 4th in AFC South — — — —
TEN total 54 45 0 Template:Winpct 2 3 Template:Winpct
NE 2025 13 3 0 Template:Winpct 1st in AFC East — — — TBD
NE total 13 3 0 Template:Winpct 0 0 Template:Winpct
Total 67 48 0 Template:Winpct 2 3 Template:Winpct

Personal life

Vrabel and his wife, Jennifer, have two sons, Tyler and Carter.[64] Tyler started on the offensive line for the Boston College Eagles football team for three years and declared himself for the 2022 NFL draft.[65] Undrafted, Tyler was signed by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2022 preseason.[66] In September 2019, Carter committed to play baseball at Wabash Valley College.[67] He then spent two seasons with Volunteer State Community College, before transferring to Tennessee Tech for his final year.[68] Vrabel founded the "Mike's Second and Seven Foundation" with his former Ohio State teammates Ryan Miller and Luke Fickell to promote literacy in the central Ohio area.[69]

In March 2011, Vrabel was arrested and charged with a Class D felony for theft at an Indiana casino. According to reports from Kansas City television station KMBC and ProFootballTalk.com, the incident involved eight bottles of beer at a deli. Vrabel was released after posting a $600 bond.[70]

References

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  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  47. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  48. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  49. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  50. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  51. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  52. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  53. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  54. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  55. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  56. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  57. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  61. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  62. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  63. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  64. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  65. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  66. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  67. ↑ Template:Cite tweet
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  69. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  70. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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