Former Ohio State Football player Mike Vrabel to be inducted into Patriots Hall of Fame

Former Ohio State football player and current Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel has been chosen by the New England fanbase as the 34th enrollee into the Patriots Hall of Fame. The Patriots’ faithful chose Vrabel over such legends as Bill Parcells and Logan Mankins, both of which joined Vrabel as finalists for the honor.

The Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio native was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 91st pick in the 3rd round of the 1997 NFL Draft after helping to lead the Ohio State defense to a Rose Bowl victory in 1996.

That season he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American after accumulating 9 sacks and 48 tackles from the defensive end position. Vrabel finished his four-year career at Ohio State with 36 sacks which makes him first all-time when it comes to taking down the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage.

Vrabel was named the Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year in both 1995 and 1996, becoming the first player to ever win the award twice. After college Vrabel played four seasons in Pittsburgh before joining the Patriots as a free agent in 2001. Vrabel helped New England win three Super Bowls during his nine seasons before he was traded to Kansas City where he played two more seasons before retiring after the 2010 season.

He finished his 15-year NFL career with 740 tackles and 57 sacks to go along with 88 more tackles and 9 more post-season sacks. He also remarkably has 10 receptions in his career, all of which ended in the endzone for touchdowns.

Vrabel returned to Columbus, Ohio in 2011 and joined the Ohio State football team’s coaching staff coaching the linebackers alongside college roommate and friend Luke Fickell. Urban Meyer took over the program in 2012 and decided to keep both former Buckeyes on his defensive staff.

He returned to the NFL in 2014 where he continued his coaching career in Houston before being named the head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2018. Vrabel’s success in Tennessee hasn’t gone unnoticed as he was named the NFL Coach of the Year in 2021.

Vrabel is considered a fierce competitor and is no doubt on the short list of possible former Buckeyes who could be called upon to lead the Ohio State football program if Ryan Day were to step down or get fired. Whether or not Vrabel would leave the NFL for the overwhelming and tireless schedule that would await him in Columbus, Ohio is a different story, however.

One thing is for sure, this will not be the only Hall of Fame Vrabel will be inducted into. He was already inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012 and will for sure one day be nominated and enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame and maybe even the NFL Hall of Fame as a head coach if he can one day win a Super Bowl to go along with his stellar NFL career as a player.