In his second NFL head coaching position, Mike Vrabel is currently the head coach of the New England Patriots. However, he had already tried to interview in 2012 for an assistant position with Urban Meyer’s Ohio State Buckeyes.
After a regime shift, Vrabel, who had been coaching Ohio State’s linebackers, had to demonstrate that he still belonged. After that, Vrabel went to interview with Meyer for a job, and the former Super Bowl champion’s interview did not exactly go well.
Vrabel described the events during an interview with Meyer on the Triple Option podcast, stating that Meyer was not particularly satisfied with his first performance, particularly when he tried to sketch a 3-technique on a whiteboard.
Vrabel remembers Meyer stating, “‘That is the worst thing I’ve ever seen,'”
Meyer apparently instructed Vrabel to go back home and finish up. Vrabel followed through on that and returned the following morning for another interview.
According to Meyer, Vrabel’s second try went much better, and he was eventually appointed as the defensive line coach for the Buckeyes. He stayed there for two seasons before accepting a position as linebackers coach with the Houston Texans.
Before joining the Tennessee Titans as head coach in 2018, where he served for six seasons, Vrabel was elevated to defensive coordinator for the Texans in 2017. Earlier this summer, he was hired by the Patriots as their new head coach.
The 49-year-old spent 14 seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Patriots after playing football for Ohio State from 1993 to 1996.
