Mike Vrabel
Vrabel with the Titans in 2019
Tennessee Titans
Position:Head coach
Personal information
Born: (1975-08-14) August 14, 1975 (age 46)
Akron, Ohio
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:261 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school:Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio)
College:Ohio State
NFL Draft:1997 / Round: 3 / Pick: 91
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
As player
Career NFL statistics
Tackles:740
Sacks:57
Interceptions:11
Forced fumbles:19
Defensive touchdowns:1
Receiving touchdowns:10
Head coaching record
Regular season:33–21 (.611)
Postseason:2–2 (.500)
Career:35–23 (.603)
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR
Coaching stats at PFR

Michael George Vrabel[1] (/ˈvreɪbəl/; born August 14, 1975) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the head coach of the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State University, where he earned consensus All-American honors. Vrabel was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft, joined the New England Patriots as a free agent in 2001, where he became an All-Pro and a three-time Super Bowl champion, then finished his career with 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 the Titans' head coach in 2018.

Early years

Vrabel was born in Akron, Ohio.. He is a 1993 graduate of Walsh Jesuit High School in nearby Cuyahoga Falls, where he was a standout on their football team.[2]

Playing career

College

Vrabel accepted an athletic scholarship to attend Ohio State University and played defensive end from 1993 to 1996. He compiled twelve quarterback sacks as a sophomore, thirteen as a junior, and forty-eight tackles and nine sacks as a senior.[3] As a senior in 1996, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American. Vrabel finished his career at Ohio State by being named the Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year in both 1995 and 1996, becoming only the second player to ever win the award twice (Wendell Bryant of Wisconsin being the other). He accumulated 36 sacks and 66 tackles for a loss.[4]

He was named to the Ohio State Football All-Century Team in 2000, and in 2012 was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame.[5]

National Football League

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 4+1⁄8 in
(1.93 m) 		270 lb
(122 kg) 		34+1⁄4 in
(0.87 m) 		9+5⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		 4.93 s 1.70 s 2.88 s 4.43 s 7.77 s 29.5 in
(0.75 m)		 8 ft 6 in
(2.59 m)		 23 reps
All values from NFL Combine[6][7]

Pittsburgh Steelers

Vrabel was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round (91st overall) of the 1997 NFL Draft.[8] He spent the first four seasons of his career in Pittsburgh. His most notable play as a Steeler came in his rookie season, when he sacked Drew Bledsoe in the 1997–98 AFC Divisional Playoffs to clinch a 7–6 win for the Steelers. Vrabel had 12 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 1998; 9 tackles and two sacks in 1999; and 15 tackles, one sack, and one fumble recovery in 2000.

New England Patriots

Vrabel at Super Bowl XLII in 2008
Vrabel at Super Bowl XLII in 2008

Vrabel joined the New England Patriots as a free agent for the 2001 season.[9] He played in every game on defense, starting in 12. He 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 1-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. Vrabel was one of the defensive stars as well; he had two sacks (one forcing a fumble) of Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme.

In Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005, Vrabel caught a two-yard touchdown pass despite being held by Philadelphia's 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.

Vrabel finished with ten career receptions in just 14 targets, all for touchdowns.[9] 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). 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. 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.

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.[10]

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.

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.[11] 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.[12]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Won the Super Bowl
Bold Career high

Regular season

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sacks Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF FR Yds TD
1997 PIT 15 0 17 14 3 1.5 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0
1998 PIT 11 0 9 6 3 2.5 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
2000 PIT 15 0 5 3 2 1.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
2001 NE 16 12 63 40 23 3.0 2 27 13.5 15 0 7 0 0 0 0
2002 NE 16 13 82 58 24 4.5 1 0 0.0 0 0 4 0 2 0 0
2003 NE 13 9 52 37 15 9.5 2 18 9.0 14 0 2 4 1 0 0
2004 NE 16 15 71 54 17 5.5 0 0 0.0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0
2005 NE 16 16 108 73 35 4.5 2 23 11.5 24T 1 3 1 0 0 0
2006 NE 16 16 89 54 35 4.5 3 0 0.0 2 0 1 3 1 0 0
2007 NE 16 15 77 55 22 12.5 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
2008 NE 16 14 62 40 22 4.0 1 5 5.0 5 0 4 1 1 0 0
2009 KC 14 14 52 43 9 2.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 5 2 1 0 0
2010 KC 16 16 48 30 18 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Career 206 140 740 511 229 57.0 11 73 6.7 24T 1 30 19 9 0 0

[13]

Postseason

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sacks Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF FR Yds TD
1997 PIT 2 0 1 1 0 1.0 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
2003 NE 3 3 18 15 3 3.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
2004 NE 3 3 14 11 3 2.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0
2005 NE 2 2 15 8 7 1.0 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
2007 NE 3 3 6 3 3 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
2010 KC 1 1 3 0 3 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 20 18 88 60 28 9.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 3 3 2 1 0

[13]

Coaching career

Ohio State

Vrabel retired on July 10, 2011 to become the linebackers coach at Ohio State.[14] On December 21, 2011 new Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer decided to keep Vrabel on as part of his coaching staff as defensive line coach.[15]

Houston Texans

On January 10, 2014, Vrabel was hired by the Houston Texans as a linebackers coach.[16] During his three seasons as linebackers coach, the Texans ranked third in the NFL in yards allowed per game.[17] In January 2016 news outlets reported that the San Francisco 49ers offered Vrabel their defensive coordinator job; Vrabel declined the offer and remained in Houston.[18] In January 2017 the Texans named Vrabel as their defensive coordinator, moving previous coordinator Romeo Crennel to assistant head coach.[19] He coached players such as J. J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, Whitney Mercilus, and Benardrick McKinney.[17]

Tennessee Titans

Vrabel in an interview in 2018
Vrabel in an interview in 2018

On January 20, 2018, Vrabel was hired as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans on a five-year deal.[20][21] On September 16, 2018, Vrabel beat the Houston Texans 20–17 in Week 2 for his first career win as a head coach.[22] On September 30, 2018, he led the Titans to a 26–23 overtime victory over the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles in a Week 4 upset.[23] On November 11, 2018, Vrabel beat his former longtime coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in a 34–10 Week 10 victory.[24] Under Vrabel, the Titans' defense improved from the 13th-ranked defense in 2017 to the eighth-ranked defense in 2018.[17] Vrabel and the Titans narrowly missed the playoffs by one game and finished the 2018 season with a 9–7 record.[25]

The 2019 season saw the Titans once again finish 9–7; however, this would be enough to make the playoffs as a sixth seed. During a 16–0 shutout loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 6, Vrabel elected to bench quarterback Marcus Mariota in favor of Ryan Tannehill, a move that led to the Titans winning seven of their final ten games despite starting 2–4.[26]

In the Wild Card Round, Tennessee upset the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 20–13, led by running back Derrick Henry's 204 yards from scrimmage, to advance to the Divisional Round.[27] The Titans pulled off another upset against the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens, winning 28–12 behind another breakout performance from Henry with 202 scrimmage yards along with a passing touchdown on a trick play.[28] With the victory, the Titans advanced to their first AFC Championship in seventeen seasons, where they were eliminated by the eventual Super Bowl LIV champion Kansas City Chiefs 35–24.[29]

Head coaching record

Team Year Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
TEN 2018 9 7 0 .563 3rd in AFC South — — — —
TEN 2019 9 7 0 .563 2nd in AFC South 2 1 .667 Lost to Kansas City Chiefs in AFC Championship Game
TEN 2020 11 5 0 .688 1st in AFC South 0 1 .000 Lost to Baltimore Ravens in AFC Wild Card Game
TEN 2021 4 2 0 .667 TBD — — — —
Total 33 21 0 .611 2 2 .500

Personal life

Vrabel and his wife, Jennifer, have two sons, Tyler and Carter.[30] Tyler currently plays offensive line for the Boston College Eagles football team. In September 2019 Carter committed to play baseball at Wabash Valley College.[31] 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 Ohio area.[32]

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.[33]

References

  1. ^ "Mike Vrabel Pro-Football-Reference Profile". rbref.com.
  2. ^ "Ohio State football: Mike Vrabel retires from Kansas City Chiefs to take job as Buckeyes' linebacker coach". Cleveland.com. Associated Press. July 11, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  3. ^ "Official Website of the New England Patriots". December 18, 2014.
  4. ^ "OhioStateBuckeyes.com Mike Vrabel Bio :: The Ohio State University Official Athletic Site The Ohio State University Official Athletic Site :: Football". Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  5. ^ Bill Livingston (September 21, 2012). "For Ohio State's John Simon, every week is a big game". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  6. ^ "Mike Vrabel is Living Proof the NFL Combine Doesn't Tell All". www.tennesseetitans.com/news/mike-vrabel-is-living-proof-the-nfl-combine-doesn-t-tell-all-20408475. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  7. ^ "Mike Vrabel, Combine Results, DE - Ohio State". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  8. ^ Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History, 1997 National Football League Draft. January 1, 2005. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  9. ^ a b https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/titans-hire-mike-vrabel-as-next-head-coach/
  10. ^ Monique Walker (October 29, 2007). "For Vrabel, both sides now". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  11. ^ Gasper, Christopher L. (February 28, 2009). "Vrabel trade confirmed". Boston Globe. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  12. ^ King, Peter (February 28, 2009). "Chiefs complete trade for Cassel". Sports Illustrated. CNN. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  13. ^ a b "Mike Vrabel Stats". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  14. ^ Smith, Erick (July 11, 2011). "Mike Vrabel to retire from NFL and join Ohio State coaching staff". USA Today. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  15. ^ Brian Bennett (December 21, 2011). "Meyer, Belichick see strengths in Vrabel". College Football Nation Blog. ESPN. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  16. ^ Bennett, Brian (January 9, 2014). "Mike Vrabel to coach Texans' LBs". ESPN NFL Blog. ESPN. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  17. ^ a b c "Mike Vrabel". www.titansonline.com. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  18. ^ Cohn, Grant. "Why Mike Vrabel said no to 49ers' D-coordinator job". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Archived from the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  19. ^ Barshop, Sarah (January 18, 2017). "Texans promoting Vrabel to DC, source says". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  20. ^ Bogage, Jacob (January 20, 2018). "Titans hire Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel as head coach". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  21. ^ Wyatt, Jim (January 20, 2018). "Titans Hire Mike Vrabel for Head Coaching Job". TitansOnline.com. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  22. ^ Davenport, Turron (September 16, 2018). "With Titans depleted, Mike Vrabel pulls out all stops for first win". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  23. ^ Wyatt, Jim (September 30, 2018). "Titans Win Overtime Thriller Over Eagles, 26–23". TitansOnline.com. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  24. ^ Bowers, Rachel and Dunphy, Mark (November 11, 2018). "Mike Vrabel and the Titans thoroughly beat Bill Belichick and the Patriots". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved November 11, 2018.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  25. ^ "2018 Tennessee Titans Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  26. ^ "2019 Tennessee Titans Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  27. ^ "Wild Card – Tennessee Titans at New England Patriots – January 4th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  28. ^ "Divisional Round – Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens – January 11th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  29. ^ "AFC Championship – Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs – January 19th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  30. ^ "Vrabel returns to Ohio State as coach". NCAA.com. July 11, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  31. ^ Vrabel, Carter (September 1, 2019). "pic.twitter.com/j3hnYXSIOW". @cv1and_only. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  32. ^ "Mike Vrabel Biography". Patriots.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2009. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
  33. ^ "Mike Vrabel arrested for theft". ESPN.com. Associated Press. April 5, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2017.

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