Michael George Vrabel ( VRAY-bəl; 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). 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 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 named the head coach of the Patriots in 2025. == Early life == Vrabel was born on August 14, 1975, 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 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 twelve sacks as a sophomore, thirteen as a junior, and forty-eight tackles and nine sacks as a senior. 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. 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. === National Football League === ==== Pittsburgh Steelers ==== Vrabel was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round (91st overall) of the 1997 NFL draft. 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 strip-sacked Drew Bledsoe in the 1997–98 AFC Divisional Playoffs to clinch a 7–6 win for the Steelers and advance them to the AFC Championship Game. 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 joined the New England Patriots as a free agent for the 2001 season. 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 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. Vrabel finished with 10 career receptions in just 14 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 (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. 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. 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. 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. He played in Kansas City for two seasons 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; Vrabel declined the offer and remained in Houston. In January 2017, the Texans named Vrabel as their defensive coordinator, moving previous coordinator Romeo Crennel to assistant head coach. He coached players such as J. J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, Whitney Mercilus and Benardrick McKinney. === Tennessee Titans === On January 20, 2018, Vrabel was hired as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans on a five-year deal. On September 16, 2018, Vrabel beat the Houston Texans 20–17 in Week 2 for his first career win as a head coach. On September 30, 2018, he led the Titans to a 26–23 overtime victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in a Week 4 upset. On November 11, 2018, Vrabel beat his former longtime coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in a 34–10 Week 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 2018 season with a 9–7 record. The 2019 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 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. In the Wild Card Round, Tennessee upset the defending Super Bowl champion New England 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 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 in 17 seasons, where they were eliminated by the eventual Super Bowl LIV champion Kansas City Chiefs 35–24. In the 2020 season, the Titans finished 11–5 and won the AFC South for the first time since 2008. However, they would fall to the Ravens 20–13 in the Wild Card Round. In the 2021 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. In the Divisional Round, they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals 19–16. For his work that season, Vrabel was named the AP Coach of the Year. In the 2022 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. After the 2023 season, which ended with a 6–11 record, Vrabel was dismissed from the Titans. === 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. === New England Patriots === On January 12, 2025, Vrabel was hired as the head coach of the New England Patriots, replacing Jerod Mayo. Vrabel coached the Patriots to a 7–2 start, which was the team's best start since 2019 and also surpassed their win total in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. == Head coaching record == == Personal life == Vrabel and his wife, Jennifer, have two sons, Tyler and Carter. Tyler started on the offensive line for the Boston College Eagles football team for three years and declared himself for the 2022 NFL draft. Undrafted, Tyler was signed by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2022 preseason. In September 2019, Carter committed to play baseball at Wabash Valley College. Carter then spent two seasons with Volunteer State Community College, before transferring to Tennessee Tech for his final year. 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. == References == == External links == Coaching statistics at Pro Football Reference New England Patriots profile