Vrabel found NFL success -- and touchdowns

COLUMBUS, Ohio The way Willie McGinest remembers it, his former Patriots linebacker-mate Mike Vrabel basically begged the coaching staff for a chance at what became a second career as a touchdown pass-catching specialist. With three Super Bowl wins in a four-year span and two touchdown catches in the Super Bowl, the history books will show that such begging worked out well. But Vrabel admits he couldnt beg a 15th NFL season out of his body, and thats why he officially announced his retirement from the NFL Monday and accepted a job coaching the linebackers at his alma mater, Ohio State, where hell work for his close friend and former teammate, Luke Fickell. Its a job Vrabel has dreamed about since he was an Ohio State player nearly 20 years ago, and one McGinest said Vrabel talked about even in the prime of his (NFL) career. Because Vrabels on-the-job training included playing under the likes of Bill Belichick, Bill Cowher, Eric Mangini, Jim Haslett and Romeo Crennel, McGinest thinks Vrabel is in position not just to succeed but to thrive. We got to the point with that New England defense where we knew it so well that there were several of us who could basically run the meetings, McGinest said. But I dont think any of us could have done it like Mike did. He knew pretty much what every guy was supposed to do on every call. Hes one of the smartest football players Ive ever been around. Vrabel, who turns 36 later this summer, was part of the Patriots high-character, high-quantity and low-budget free agent class of 2001, a group that helped pull one of the all-time Super Bowl upsets at the end of that season and helped to win two more over the next three years. He was still around for the undefeated regular season of 2007 and was considered valuable enough by Scott Pioli, the general manager of those New England teams, that Pioli traded for Vrabel upon taking over in Kansas City in 2009. Vrabel had only two of his 57 career sacks in two years with the Chiefs, but Pioli believes his presence and leadership were valuable parts of a turnaround that saw the Chiefs win the AFC West last fall. "His genuine love for the game, his preparation, his work ethic, leadership and dependability are qualities you want from every player," Pioli said in a statement released Monday. Vrabels contract with the Chiefs expired at the end of last season. Though he said publicly he planned to play another year, he said he knew when Baltimore was downing the ball in the playoffs that he probably had played his last down. A third-round pick of the Steelers in 1997, Vrabel actually considered retirement after four nondescript years in Pittsburgh but went on to have eight rather remarkable years in New England. Vrabel became a four-time team captain for the Patriots, played in four Super Bowls and went to the Pro Bowl in 2007 after recording 12.5 sacks, the most by a Patriots player in 20 years. Versatility was a staple of those Belichick-Crennel-Mangini defenses, units that blitzed from every angle and exploited every matchup advantage they could find. It was a linebacking corps that, at times, included Vrabel, McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Roman Phifer, Roosevelt Colvin and Larry Izzo and terrorized opposing quarterbacks. We had packages where we would play five or six linebackers at a time, and you cant do that without a guy like Mike who could not only play multiple spots but get everybody lined up, McGinest said. Teams werent sure who was going to blitz. He was such a smart player, but he was athletic enough to rush the quarterback on one play and cover a running back one-on-one on the next play. With those (Super Bowl) teams, once Tom (Brady) got rolling we became really tough to beat. Hed put the pressure on people and the defense just had to finish the job. On Dec. 26, 2005, Vrabel became the first player to record two touchdowns and a sack in the same game since sacks became an official NFL statistic in 1982. In that game against the Jets, Vrabel caught a pair of 1-yard touchdown passes and also recorded a second quarter sack. Vrabels final numbers include 11 career interceptions and 49 sacks in his eight years with the Patriots. Considering McGinest had 86 career sacks and Bruschi had 30.5, theirs was a true team effort that brought incredible results. "During his Patriots career, there was no player more respected for his football intellect and revered for his leadership by his teammates than Mike," Belichick said in a statement. "He was elected a team captain by his peers and is a player who I think everyone knew was destined to become a coach after his NFL playing career was over. All 12 of Vrabels career pass receptions -- 10 in the regular season, two in Super Bowls -- were for either 1 or 2-yard touchdowns. All that crying he used to do to the coaches paid off, McGinest said. He caught enough passes to make history. Vrabel held off from crying Monday though just barely as he thanked his former coaches for the guidance in his playing career and the head start they gave him on his new one. "I just came to the point where I couldn't train to prepare for an NFL season, he said. I'm not going to pretend I can do it anymore. (Ohio State) is where I want to be and where my family wants to be."