Former Patriots Coordinator Voices Strong Endorsement For Mike Vrabel
Bill O’Brien brought Mike Vrabel into the NFL coaching realm as an assistant on his Houston Texans staff. Now, the latter may be ready to build another chapter on their common history with the New England Patriots.
Vrabel interviewed with New England for its head coaching vacancy Thursday and O’Brien, the two-time offensive coordinator for the Patriots, knows the track record of the three-time Super Bowl champion linebacker.
“I tried to get Mike to come with me to Penn State,” O’Brien told WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” Thursday morning. “He stayed at Ohio State. When I got the Texans job, he’s one of the first guys I hired. He was the linebackers coach. I would say he was instrumental in developing guys like Whitney Mercilus, Jadeveon Clowney because he connected with them. He was a very, very demanding coach. He was a tough coach, but he knew a lot about them as people. He had an ability to connect with them. He was a no-BS guy. When he stood up in front of his position group, they knew he was telling them the truth.”
Vrabel’s team found pockets of success, including a trip to the AFC title game in 2019 and clinching the AFC’s No. 1 seed for the 2021 season. The Patriots would instantly find a playoff winner for the franchise that hasn’t won a postseason game since Super Bowl LIII.
“He took a team in the Titans to the AFC Championship Game,” O’Brien recalled. “We won four AFC South titles in Houston and we didn’t get to the AFC Championship Game. We got close, not good enough.”
O’Brien, now the head coach at Boston College, supports Vrabel’s appointment as the Patriots’ coach in 2025.
“Mike is an excellent football coach,” O’Brien said. “Very smart, great people person. I really enjoy my friendship with Mike. Hopefully, the Patriots go down that road.”