Urban Meyer Reveals Gruesome Detail About Patriots HC Mike Vrabel

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dibyendu Mondal | Last updated May 27, 2025 7:35 AM ET

Urban Meyer and Mike Vrabel, the New England Patriots' head coach, go way back. They coached the Ohio State Buckeyes together, and Vrabel served under Meyer for two impactful seasons.

Meyer recently recalled an intense but funny detail about Vrabel during his time at the program, on the show "The Triple Option."

"We’re playing the Wolverines in 2012. It’s probably five degrees outside. To get the teams out of their damn mind, and we get out and we’re playing our (expletive) off,” Meyer said.

"I look over at Mike, he’s got a hat on. Not a hoodie. Like a little stocking cap. His face is like bruised up and he’s got a little mark on his face."

"I looked, I said, ‘What the (expletive). What the hell happened here?’ Then, later on, I found out that the players were all headbutting each other before the game and someone got right in the middle of it and his name was Mike Vrabel,” he added.

Vrabel then detailed how serious his injury was, explaining that he had to get six stitches in the area between his eyebrows.

His interview to join Meyer’s staff came after the injury. He had spent a year at the program as the linebacker coach, but Luke Fickell handled most of the coaching responsibilities, while Vrabel primarily oversaw the basics.

So evidently, he botched the interview, turning things around the second time.

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— New England Patriots (@Patriots) May 13, 2025

Vrabel joined the Patriots this year intending to restore the program to its former glory. He played under Bill Belichick and has seen the organization’s success firsthand. Having proven his coaching caliber at Ohio State, he now aims to do the same in New England.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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