The New England Patriots are headed back to the Super Bowl after a snowy 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game, a feeling Mike Vrabel knows very well. Now, he can etch his name even deeper into Lombardi Trophy history: With a win in Super Bowl LX, Vrabel would become the first person ever to win a Super Bowl as a player and as a head coach for the same franchise.
When informed of that select company by CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz postgame, Vrabel quickly deflected the praise.
“I won’t win it,” Vrabel said during the trophy ceremony. “It’ll be the players that’ll win the game. I promise you. It won’t be me that’ll win it, and I promise I’ll do everything that I can to, and our staff, to have them ready for the game.”
Vrabel has already joined exclusive company as only the second person to make the Super Bowl as a player and as a head coach for the same team. Gary Kubiak also did it with, coincidentally, the Broncos: He was a Denver quarterback on their Super Bowl XXI (1986 season), Super Bowl XXII (1987 season) and Super Bowl XXIV (1989 season) teams — all losses — and the coach for its Super Bowl 50 (2015 season) triumph.
Vrabel’s trips to the Super Bowl as a player were much more successful: triumphs in Super Bowl XXXVI (2001 season), Super Bowl XXXVIII (2003 season) and Super Bowl XXXIX (2004 season) and a loss in Super Bowl XLII (2007 season).
Though he was a linebacker, he might be best known for his contributions as a pass catcher: He caught touchdown passes in two different Super Bowls and finished his career with 12 catches, all of which went for touchdowns.
Vrabel is one of 105 people to play in and be a head coach in the NFL since the 1970 merger, and he’s one of the most successful when also considering his time coaching the Tennessee Titans. New England is the first team to make the Super Bowl one year after a 13-loss season.
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