Mike Vrabel makes strong admission on how much he’ll be rooting for Bill Belichick at North Carolina and it shows his Ohio State roots
A year ago, there was mounting pressure on Ryan Day to beat Michigan and lead Ohio State to a National Championship. Some fans even called for Day’s departure before the team’s championship run, and one of the most popular suggested replacements was Mike Vrabel—who is now the head coach of the New England Patriots. Vrabel […]
A year ago, there was mounting pressure on Ryan Day to beat Michigan and lead Ohio State to a National Championship.
Some fans even called for Day’s departure before the team’s championship run, and one of the most popular suggested replacements was Mike Vrabel—who is now the head coach of the New England Patriots.
Vrabel landed the job he had long been eyeing. The former Buckeye is now tasked with bringing the Patriots back to relevance, reminiscent of their success under Bill Belichick. Belichick, meanwhile, has transitioned to the college ranks as the head coach at North Carolina. Vrabel says he’ll be rooting for Belichick and the Tar Heels—most of the time.
“It feels like he wanted to go down to North Carolina and try to recreate that,” Vrabel said of Belichick’s move to college during an appearance on The Triple Option podcast. “I wish him a lot of luck in the world, unless they’re playing Ohio State.”
Vrabel’s sentiment comes as no surprise. He played at Ohio State from 1993 to 1996 and began his coaching career as an assistant there. While it’s unlikely the Buckeyes and Tar Heels will face each other outside of the College Football Playoff, Vrabel made it clear he’ll never root against his alma mater.
As for a return to the college coaching ranks, Vrabel doesn’t see that in his future.
“Three years in college was enough for me,” Vrabel said. “And I took off for the NFL. I’m sure Urban [Meyer] told you—he didn’t want to hire me. He’ll tell you that, or maybe it was just his way of motivating me. Either way, he did a good job, and I learned a lot there. But I just felt like the pro game was where I wanted to be.”
Vrabel has since built a respected career in the NFL, now entering his second head coaching tenure. The former Buckeye has carved out a successful post-playing legacy.
