Mike Vrabel Could Make NFL History by Winning a Super Bowl as Both Player and Head Coach with the Same Franchise

Mike Vrabel won the Super Bowl with Patriots three times and now has led the same team to the Super Bowl as the head coach by defeating the Broncos in the AFC Championship game.

Mike Vrabel Could Make NFL History by Winning a Super Bowl as Both Player and Head Coach with the Same Franchise

Mike Vrabel (Image via IMAGO)

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The Tennessee Titans made a mistake by allowing Mike Vrabel to leave after the club enjoyed one of the best runs in its history. One team’s loss is another’s gain, and the New England Patriots are enjoying the rewards of Vrabel’s sharp tactical mind.

Vrabel just confirmed the Patriots’ ticket to yet another Super Bowl appearance, the first since 2018. New England went up against the Broncos’ top-3 league defense and came away with a win in their own backyard.

Despite starting their backup quarterback, Denver played dogged football for four quarters. The defense got to Drake Maye 5 times and limited him to fewer than 100 yards through the air (completed just 47% of his passes).

However, Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels came prepared. Rather than battling the snow and cold, the Patriots embraced them as allies. Maye ran the ball more than usual, and it bore fruit. He scored New England’s only touchdown of the tie, which was enough to secure the win.

On the opposite side of the ball, the defense managed to shake off the early jitters. Denver’s Jarrett Stidham split the Patriots’ back line with a pinpoint pass to open the scoring, but that ended up being his only major contribution. With time running out, Vrabel increased the pressure on the Broncos’ QB2. It worked.

Stidham fumbled the ball but was fortunate to hear the referee rule it an incomplete pass. However, he wasn’t lucky the second time. Trying to escape a looming sack, Stidham fired a pass that was intercepted by Christian Gonzalez. This one play killed the game for Denver.

Patriots wrapped up the game 10-7 and qualified for Super Bowl LX in San Francisco. If Vrabel defeats the Seattle Seahawks on February 8, he will become the first individual to win the Super Bowl as a player and a head coach.

Vrabel, as a linebacker, won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, and XXXIX) during his eight-year stint with the Patriots (2001-2008).

Several former players have gone on to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Tom Flores won the Super Bowl with the Chiefs (1970) as a player and then led the Las Vegas Raiders to a ring (1981). Mike Ditka won the Super Bowl in 1972 with the Cowboys and then coached the Bears to a victory in the biggest game in 1986. However, none of them ever managed to accomplish the feat with the same team. Vrabel has the chance to create history.

Mike Vrabel accomplished the improbable as the Patriots’ head coach

After Tennessee fired him in 2024 for missing the playoffs for the second successive year, Vrabel didn’t take a coaching job for one year. He waited for the right opportunity. It arrived in the form of his former team.

Mike Vrabel Could Make NFL History by Winning a Super Bowl as Both Player and Head Coach With the Same Franchise
Mike Vrabel and Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (Image via IMAGO)

New England dismissed Jerrod Mayo, a former teammate of Vrabel’s, after just one season following a 4-13 record. Owner Robert Kraft roped in the 50-year-old, and he quickly restored the winning culture that was missing since Tom Brady left for Tampa in 2020.

The Patriots went 14-3, won the AFC East, defeated the Chargers and the Texans to qualify for the Super Bowl. According to ESPN research, the Patriots became the first team in the Super Bowl era to reach the Super Bowl after hiring a new head coach and winning 4 games or fewer the prior season.

All thanks to Vrabel. The Titans let him go, despite him leading the team to three straight playoff appearances, two division titles, and an AFC Championship Game in only his second season. It has turned out to be a monumental mistake by Amy Adams Strunk.

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