Mike Vrabel

Mike Vrabel (born August 14, 1975, Akron, Ohio, U.S.) is an American football coach and former player who is especially known for his tenure with the New England Patriots. A linebacker who saw occasional duty as a tight end, he helped the team win three Super Bowls (2002, 2004, 2005). After retiring as a player in 2011, he embarked on a coaching career, and in 2025 he was named head coach of New England. In his first year he oversaw a historic resurgence, leading the team to a record-tying 10-win improvement and a Super Bowl appearance.

Early years and OSU

Vrabel is the only child of Elaine and Chuck Vrabel, both of whom were educators. The family lived in Springfield Township and Stow, Ohio, and Mike Vrabel later attended Walsh Jesuit High School, where he was a star member of the football team, playing on both defense and offense. After graduating in 1993, Vrabel attended the Ohio State University (OSU) on a scholarship. A standout defensive end, he set school records in career quarterback sacks (36) and career tackles for loss (66). He was also the first player to be named the Big Ten Conference’s defensive lineman of the year twice (1995, 1996). He ended his final season (1996–97) at OSU by helping the team win the Rose Bowl.

NFL playing career

In 1997 the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Vrabel in the third round of the NFL draft. During his four years with the team, he typically played on special teams and was a backup linebacker. After the 2000 season he became a free agent and signed with the Patriots, who were coming off a 5–11 record in Bill Belichick’s first season as head coach of the team.

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It was in New England that Vrabel became a star player. In addition to using him on defense, Belichick employed Vrabel as an occasional tight end on offense in short-yardage and goal-line situations. In his first season with New England, the Patriots won the Super Bowl, marking the beginning of the team’s dominant run under legendary quarterback Tom Brady. New England won back-to-back Super Bowls in 2004 and 2005, and Vrabel caught touchdown passes in both championship games. In 2007 Vrabel made the Pro Bowl. Two years later he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, where he ended his playing career, retiring after the 2010 season. His regular season career stats include 57 sacks, 757 tackles, 11 interceptions, and 9 fumble recoveries. All of Vrabel’s 12 receptions—10 in the regular season and 2 in the playoffs—were for touchdowns.

Coaching

After stints as linebackers coach and defensive line coach for OSU (2011–13), Vrabel was hired as linebackers coach by the NFL’s Houston Texans in 2014. Three years later he became the team’s defensive coordinator. In 2018 the Tennessee Titans named him head coach, and in his second season he led the team to a pair of playoff upsets en route to the American Football Conference (AFC) championship game, where they lost to the Chiefs. Tennessee qualified for the playoffs again the next two seasons. In the 2021 season the team posted a record of 12–5, and Vrabel was named NFL Coach of the Year. That season the Titans also made their third straight playoff appearance—the longest consecutive postseason stretch for the team since a seven-year run in the late 1980s and early ’90s, when the franchise was called the Houston Oilers. But the Titans had two losing seasons in 2022 and 2023, and Vrabel was fired in 2024.

The Patriots hired Vrabel as their new head coach in January 2025. “Our goals will be to win the AFC East, to host home playoff games, and to compete for championships,” he said at an introductory news conference. “And what the timeline is, just like we say with injuries, like we’re not going to put a timeline on an injury, and we’re certainly not going to put a timeline on what those will be.”

But those goals were met quicker than most could have expected. Vrabel took a team that had gone 4–13 in 2024 and led them to a first-place finish in the AFC East with a 14–3 record. That 10-game turnaround matched the highest in league history; the two previous teams to do it were the 1998 Indianapolis Colts and the 2008 Miami Dolphins. New England’s resurgence was aided by second-year quarterback Drake Maye, who led NFL quarterbacks in several categories in 2025. The Patriots qualified for the postseason, and in their first home playoff game since 2019, they beat the Los Angeles Chargers, 16–3. Late in the game, Vrabel was embraced by Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams, whose helmet accidentally hit his face, giving the coach a bloody lip. Vrabel took it in stride, joking after the game: “Well, we talked to him about being willing to spill some blood out there and that the big dogs come out in January.” New England then defeated the Houston Texans, 28–16, to advance to the AFC championship game. There the Patriots beat the Denver Broncos, 10–7, and returned to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2018 season. However, New England lost to the Seattle Seahawks, 29–13.

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Personal life

While attending Ohio State, Vrabel met Jennifer (Jen) Boleyn. They married in 1999 and later had two sons, Tyler and Carter Vrabel.