Mike Vrabel has played a huge role in the history of the New England Patriots – on and off the field.
The former linebacker, who was appointed as Jerod Mayo’s replacement as head coach on Sunday, won three Super Bowls with the franchise between 2001 and 2008.
He retired well before Tom Brady and Bill Belichick won three more rings – in 2014, 2016, and 2018 – but played a huge role in establishing the greatest dynasty in football.
He then brought it all crashing down in 2019.
The then-Tennessee Titans boss masterminded a wild-card round victory thanks to Derrick Henry rushing for 204 of his team’s 272 total yards on offense.
Brady moved to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the end of the season and won another Vince Lombardi trophy before heading into the Fox Sports booth and the boardroom as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Patriots have enjoyed just one trip to the postseason since – a wild-card defeat to the Buffalo Bills in 2021 – and only a Week 18 victory over the same opponent prevented them from selecting first overall in April’s Draft.
Vrabel – named Coach of the Year in 2021 for his work with the Titans – will now look to turn around the franchise he made his name with.
He could easily have been linking up with Brady in Vegas after forming an unlikely partnership on the field decades ago.
What began in an expletive-laden rant, ended in the duo breaking a Super Bowl record William ‘Refrigerator’ Perry had held for 18 years.
Asked to share a story as part of Tom Brady‘s 40th birthday celebrations, Vrabel told ESPN a hilarious anecdote from the time he began moonlighting as a tight end in 2002.
“My indoctrination to the goal-line (offense): I had maybe caught a couple touchdowns and was feeling pretty good about myself, and we went to practice one day and I broke free on a crossing route or something like that,” he said.
GettyBrady finds Vrabel in the end zone for a historic TD[/caption]
GettyThe linebacker popped up as a situational tight end[/caption]
“So I start yelling, ‘Tom! Tom! Tom!’ and I’m waving my hands. But he doesn’t throw it to me.
“I come back, and we’re in the huddle when he says, ‘Mikey, if you ever wave your f*****’ hands and ask for the ball again, I’ll never throw it to you. I know who’s open. I’m the quarterback, I’ll throw it to whoever the f*** I want!’ That was the last time I ever called for the ball.”
Vrabel ended up catching 10 of the 737 touchdown passes the GOAT threw in his NFL career.
The most famous of which came in Super Bowl XXXVIII 20 years ago.
A one-yard catch made Vrabel the first defensive player to score a Super Bowl touchdown on offense since William “Refrigerator” Perry’s for the Chicago Bears against the Patriots in 1986.
Back to the present day, the Patriots and their fans are clearly excited for the future.
Getty‘Refrigerator’ Perry was a sight to behold[/caption]
“He’s back! Patriots Hall of Famer Mike Vrabel returns to New England as our 16th head coach,” the team confirmed Sunday via X.
“As it should be. Full circle,” commented one fan with a throwback photo of Vrabel.
“We are so back welcome home Mike Vrabel,” added another.
“What a huge move. He’s gonna crush it,” a third wrote.