.png) Vrabel with theTennessee Titans in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| New England Patriots | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Head coach | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1975-08-14)August 14, 1975 (age 50) Akron, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| 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 (1993–1996) | ||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1997: 3rd round, 91st overall pick | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Linebacker, No. 96, 56, 50 | ||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||
Playing
Coaching
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||||
| Regular season | 64–47 (.577) | ||||||||||||||||
| Postseason | 2–3 (.400) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career | 66–50 (.569) | ||||||||||||||||
| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||||||||||
Michael George Vrabel (/ˈvreɪbəl/VRAY-bəl; born August 14, 1975) is an American professionalfootball coach and formerlinebacker who is thehead coach for theNew England Patriots of theNational Football League (NFL). Vrabel previously played in the NFL for 14 seasons, most notably with the Patriots. He previously served as the head coach of theTennessee Titans from 2018 to 2023.
Vrabel playedcollege football for theOhio State Buckeyes, twice receivingAll-American honors. He was selected in the third round of the1997 NFL draft by thePittsburgh Steelers, where he spent his first four seasons. Vrabel played his next eight seasons with the Patriots, earningPro Bowl and first-teamAll-Pro selections in 2007, along with winning threeSuper Bowl titles. In his final two seasons, he was a member of theKansas City Chiefs.
As the head coach of the Titans, Vrabel led the team to three consecutive playoff appearances, two consecutive division titles, and anAFC Championship Game appearance in 2019, the franchise's first since 2002. He was also namedNFL 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 in 2023, Vrabel acted as a coaching and personnel consultant for the Cleveland Browns before eventually being named the head coach of the Patriots in 2025.
Vrabel was born on August 14, 1975, inAkron, Ohio.[1] He is a 1993 graduate ofWalsh Jesuit High School in nearbyCuyahoga Falls, where he was a standout on theirfootball team coached by Gerry Rardin.[2]
Vrabel accepted an athletic scholarship to attendOhio State University and playeddefensive end from 1993 to 1996.[3] He compiled tensacks as a sophomore, twelve as a junior, and forty-eight tackles and nine sacks as a senior.[4] 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 the first of two players to ever win the award twice (Wendell Bryant of Wisconsin being the other). He accumulated 36 sacks and 66 tackles for a loss.[5]
He was named to theOhio State Football All-Century Team in 2000, and in 2012 was inducted into theOhio State Athletics Hall of Fame.[6]
| 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft4+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 fromNFL Combine[7][8] | ||||||||||||
Vrabel was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round (91st overall) of the1997 NFL draft.[9] He spent the first four seasons of his career in Pittsburgh. His most notable play as a Steeler came in his rookie season, when hestrip-sackedDrew Bledsoe in the1997–98 AFC Divisional Playoffs to clinch a 7–6 win for the Steelers and advance them to theAFC Championship Game.[10] 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.
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Vrabel joined theNew England Patriots as a free agent for the 2001 season.[11] He played in every game on defense, starting in 12. He would occasionally come in as an eligible receiver, lining up as atight end.Bill Belichick took advantage of this in 2004 inSuper Bowl XXXVIII. In the fourth quarter,Tom Brady threw a 1-yardtouchdown pass to Vrabel, making Vrabel the first defensive player to score a Super Bowl touchdown on offense sinceWilliam "Refrigerator" Perry did so for theChicago Bearsagainst the Patriots in 1986'sSuper Bowl XX.[12] Vrabel was one of the defensive stars as well; he had two sacks (one forcing a fumble) ofCarolina Panthers quarterbackJake Delhomme.[13]
InSuper Bowl XXXIX in 2005, Vrabel caught a two-yard touchdown pass despite being held by theEagles'Jevon Kearse, a feat pictured on the cover of the2005 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 PatriotMatt 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 forNFL 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 anonside kick, and scored an offensive touchdown against theWashington Redskins, for which he was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week.[17] In December 2007, he was selected to start at thePro Bowl; in January 2008, he was named to the NFLAll-Pro team for the 2007 season.[18]
On December 26, 2005, on the finalMonday 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 thePatriots' 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 backersMonty Beisel andChad Brown, although he had never before played inside in the NFL. By the timeTedy 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 afterJunior Seau suffered a broken arm.[20]
On February 27, 2009, the Patriots traded Vrabel to theKansas City Chiefs for what was originally announced as an undisclosed draft pick.[21] The next day it was revealed that Patriots traded both Vrabel andMatt Cassel in exchange for the Chiefs' second round pick, the 34th overall selection in the2009 NFL draft.[22] He played in Kansas City for two seasons before retiring.[23]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
| 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 | |||
| 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 | 9 | 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 | |||
| 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 | |||
| 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 | |||
| 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 | |
| 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 | |||
| 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 | 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 | |||
| 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[24] | 20 | 18 | 88 | 60 | 28 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
Vrabel retired on July 10, 2011, to become the linebackers coach at Ohio State.[25] On December 21, new Ohio State head coachUrban Meyer decided to keep Vrabel on as part of his coaching staff as defensive line coach.[26]
On January 10, 2014, Vrabel was hired by theHouston Texans as a linebackers coach.[27] During his three seasons as linebackers coach, the Texans ranked third in the NFL in yards allowed per game.[28] In January 2016 news outlets reported that theSan Francisco 49ers offered Vrabel their defensive coordinator job; Vrabel declined the offer and remained in Houston.[29] In January 2017, the Texans named Vrabel as their defensive coordinator, moving previous coordinatorRomeo Crennel to assistant head coach.[30] He coached players such asJ. J. Watt,Jadeveon Clowney,Whitney Mercilus andBenardrick McKinney.[28]
On January 20, 2018, Vrabel was hired as the head coach of theTennessee Titans on a five-year deal.[31][32] On September 16, 2018, Vrabel beat theHouston Texans 20–17 in Week 2 for his first career win as a head coach.[33] On September 30, 2018, he led the Titans to a 26–23 overtime victory over the defending Super Bowl championPhiladelphia Eagles in a Week 4 upset.[34] On November 11, 2018, Vrabel beat his former longtime coachBill Belichick and theNew England Patriots in a 34–10 Week 10 victory.[35] Under Vrabel, the Titans' defense improved from the 13th-ranked defense in 2017 to the eighth-ranked defense in 2018.[28] Vrabel and the Titans narrowly missed the playoffs by one game and finished the 2018 season with a 9–7 record.[36]
The2019 season saw the Titans again finish 9–7; however, this would be enough to make the playoffs as a sixth seed. During a 16–0 shutout loss to theDenver Broncos in Week 6, Vrabel elected to bench quarterbackMarcus Mariota in favor ofRyan Tannehill, a move that led to the Titans winning seven of their final ten games despite starting 2–4.[37] In theWild Card Round, Tennessee upset thedefending Super Bowl championNew England Patriots on the road 20–13, led by running backDerrick Henry's 204 yards from scrimmage, to advance to the Divisional Round.[38] The Titans pulled off another upset in theDivisional Round against the #1-seedBaltimore Ravens, winning 28–12 behind another breakout performance from Henry with 202 scrimmage yards along with a passing touchdown on a trick play.[39] With the victory, the Titans advanced to their firstAFC Championship in17 seasons, where they were eliminated by the eventualSuper Bowl LIV championKansas City Chiefs 35–24.[40]
In the2020 season, the Titans finished 11–5 and won theAFC South for the first time since 2008.[41][42] However, they would fall to theRavens 20–13 in theWild Card Round.[43]
In the2021 season, Vrabel led the Titans to a 12–5 record and the #1 overall seed in the AFC, securing a bye to the Divisional Round.[44] In theDivisional Round, they lost to theCincinnati Bengals 19–16.[45] For his work that season, Vrabel was named the AP Coach of the Year.[46]
In the2022 season, the Titans started 7–3, putting them in a prime position to secure a playoff spot. However, the team lost seven straight games and ended up missing the playoffs at 7–10.[47]
After the2023 season, which ended with a 6–11 record, Vrabel was dismissed from the Titans.[48]
After not landing a coordinator or head coaching job in the offseason, Vrabel signed a one-year contract with theCleveland Browns as a coaching and personnel consultant on March 15, 2024.[49][50]
On January 12, 2025, Vrabel was hired as the head coach of theNew England Patriots, replacingJerod Mayo.[51] Vrabel coached the Patriots to a 10–2 start, which was the team's best start since 2019 and also surpassed their win total in the2023 and2024 seasons.[52][53]
| 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 toKansas City Chiefs inAFC Championship Game |
| TEN | 2020 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1st in AFC South | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost toBaltimore Ravens inAFC Wild card game |
| TEN | 2021 | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 1st in AFC South | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost toCincinnati Bengals inAFC Divisional Game |
| TEN | 2022 | 7 | 10 | 0 | .412 | 2nd in AFC South | — | — | — | — |
| TEN | 2023 | 6 | 11 | 0 | .353 | 4th in AFC South | — | — | — | — |
| TEN total | 54 | 45 | 0 | .545 | 2 | 3 | .400 | |||
| NE | 2025 | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 1st in AFC East | — | — | — | — |
| NE total | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| Total | 64 | 47 | 0 | .569 | 2 | 3 | .400 | |||
Vrabel and his wife, Jennifer, have two sons,Tyler and Carter.[54] Tyler started on the offensive line for theBoston College Eagles football team for three years and declared himself for the2022 NFL draft.[55] Undrafted, Tyler was signed by theAtlanta Falcons in the 2022 preseason.[56] In September 2019, Carter committed to play baseball atWabash Valley College.[57] Carter then spent two seasons withVolunteer State Community College, before transferring toTennessee Tech for his final year.[58] Vrabel founded the "Mike's Second and Seven Foundation" with his former Ohio State teammates Ryan Miller andLuke Fickell to promote literacy in the central Ohio area.[59]
