On Sunday, Mike Vrabel returns to his first NFL home of Pittsburgh for the first time since becoming head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2018.
The Akron, Ohio-born Vrabel, who played linebacker for 14 seasons, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 1997 NFL draft.
But with guys named Jason Gildon, Earl Holmes, Levon Kirkland, Greg Lloyd and later Joey Porter, opportunities to start are nil. And that was the case for Vrabel.
In four seasons with Pittsburgh, Vrabel never had a start. In 51 appearances, he contributed seven sacks, three forced fumbles, three fumbles recovered and 56 tackles (four for loss) per Pro Football Reference.
After Pittsburgh, Vrabel went on to have a successful eight-year career with the New England Patriots. In 2005, he racked up a career-high 108 tackles and a career-high 12.5 sacks earned him a Pro Bowl nod. He helped the Patriots to three Super Bowls in seven seasons.
“You start your career there with an unbelievable organization,” Vrabel told TribLive’s Tim Benz of playing with the Steelers. “I learned a lot about pro football and what it should be from the people there.”
“It starts at the top with the Rooney family, and everybody involved, all the way down to the coaches,” Vrabel said. “John Mitchell was my first professional position coach and ‘Mitch’ is still with the team. Jim Haslett was my defensive coordinator and is on our staff now. Just the type of people that have been there. Coach (Bill) Cowher, the entire Rooney family.
I know a lot of people have come and gone, but the one constant that remains is the Rooney family, and Mike (Tomlin) has done an unbelievable job to represent them on and off the field.”
Vrabel is 0-1 versus the Pittsburgh Steelers as Titans head coach. Last year, in the Week 7 game that was postponed from Week 4 after a COVID-19 outbreak in Tennessee, the Steelers squeaked out a win by a score of 27-24.
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