Mike Vrabel
Michael George Vrabel is an American professional football coach and former linebacker who is the head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. Vrabel previously played in the NFL for 14 seasons, most notably with the Patriots. He also served as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans from 2018 to 2023.
Vrabel played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, twice receiving All-American honors. He was selected in the third round of the 1997 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he spent his first four seasons. Vrabel 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.
As the head coach of the Titans, 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 also won NFL Coach of the Year in 2021 after helping the Titans obtain their conference's top seed for the first time since 2008. Vrabel was named head coach of the Patriots in 2025, leading them to an appearance in Super Bowl LX the same year.
Early life
Vrabel was born on August 14, 1975, in Akron, Ohio. He attended Walsh Jesuit High School in nearby Cuyahoga Falls, where he was a standout on their football team coached by Gerry Rardin.Playing career
College
Vrabel accepted an athletic scholarship to attend Ohio State University and played defensive end from 1993 to 1996. He compiled 10 sacks as a sophomore, 12 as a junior, and 48 tackles and nine sacks as a senior.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. Vrabel accumulated 36 sacks and 66 tackles for a loss.
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.
National Football League
Pittsburgh Steelers
Vrabel was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 1997 NFL draft. 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. 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
Vrabel joined the New England Patriots as a free agent in 2001. He played in every game on defense, starting in 12. He would remain a regular starter on defense during his eight-year tenure in New England.In his first four seasons with the Patriots, Vrabel's primary position was right outside linebacker in the Patriots' 3–4 scheme. In 2005, because of the limited effectiveness of inside backers Monty Beisel and Chad Brown, Vrabel moved to inside linebacker although he had never before played inside in the NFL. 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.
Vrabel's best season with the team was in 2007, when he was selected as a Pro Bowl starter and named to the NFL All-Pro team. In Week 8 of that season, Vrabel forced three fumbles, had three sacks, recovered an onside kick, and scored an offensive touchdown against the Washington Redskins, and was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
Vrabel would occasionally come in as an eligible receiver, lining up as a tight end. Head coach 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 in Super Bowl XX in 1986. Vrabel was one of the defensive stars of the game as well, with two sacks and a forced fumble. The next year, in Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005, Vrabel again 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. The reception made him one of 17 players to catch two or more touchdown passes in Super Bowls.
Across the regular season and playoffs, Vrabel finished with 12 career receptions in just 16 targets, all for touchdowns. 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. On December 26, 2005, on the final Monday Night Football game on ABC, Vrabel became, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the first player to have two touchdown catches and a sack in the same game since sacks began to be recorded officially in 1982. In addition to his 12 touchdowns on offense, Vrabel recorded his only career defensive touchdown on an interception return in the 2005 season. In 2007, NFL Network ranked him #7 on their Top 10 list of Most Versatile Players.
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. 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. Vrabel played in Kansas City for two seasons as a starter before retiring.NFL career statistics
Regular season
Postseason
Coaching career
Ohio State
Vrabel retired on July 10, 2011, to become the linebackers coach at Ohio State. 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.Houston Texans
On January 10, 2014, Vrabel was hired by the Houston Texans as a linebackers coach. During his three seasons as linebackers coach, the Texans ranked third in the NFL in yards allowed per game. 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. In January 2017, the Texans named Vrabel as their defensive coordinator, moving previous coordinator Romeo Crennel to assistant head coach. Vrabel coached players such as J. J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, Whitney Mercilus, and Benardrick McKinney during his tenure in Houston.Tennessee Titans
2018 season
On January 20, 2018, Vrabel was hired as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans on a five-year deal.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. Two weeks later, Vrabel led the Titans to a 26–23 overtime victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. During Week 10, he beat his former longtime coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in a 34–10 victory.
Under Vrabel, the Titans' defense improved from the 13th-ranked defense in 2017 to the eighth-ranked defense in 2018. Vrabel and the Titans narrowly missed the playoffs by one game and finished the season with a 9–7 record.
2019 season
The 2019 season saw the Titans again finish 9–7; however, this would be enough to make the playoffs as the #6-seed. 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.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. 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. 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.
2020 season
Titans defensive coordinator Dean Pees retired on January 20, 2020, after spending the last two seasons with the team. Vrabel decided not to hire a defensive coordinator for the season.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. However, the Titans lost to the Ravens 20–13 in the Wild Card Round. 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.
2021 season
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. The team fielded 91 players during the season, breaking the old NFL record of 84 held by the 2019 Miami Dolphins and 2020 San Francisco 49ers.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. For his work that season, Vrabel was named the AP Coach of the Year.