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Posted by Michael David Smith on June 14, 2023, 12:39 PM
EDT
USA Today
Mike
Vrabel was selected last month to the Patriots’
Hall of Fame, and Bill Belichick praised Vrabel when asked about that selection
at the Patriots’ minicamp.
Vrabel played for Belichick from 2001 to 2008, and while they now
coach against each other when the Patriots face the Titans, Belichick said he
has nothing but respect for everything Vrabel has accomplished.
“I
love Mike and what he did for us here,” Belichick said. “He was a big signing
for us from Pittsburgh. He didn’t play much up there but came here and became
an immediate starter. He played in all of the kicking game, which he did in
Pittsburgh as well. He gave us a lot of leadership with a lot of energy,
toughness and football character. He was a great addition. I have a good
relationship with Mike all the way back to when he was at Ohio State. Since,
I’ve followed his coaching career, obviously from Ohio State, to Houston, to
Tennessee. I had a great opportunity to work with Mike, and I look forward to
working with him again this summer in Tennessee, and at his induction later in
the fall. There are a lot of great Patriots from my era as a coach in the Hall
of Fame. I’m proud to put another one in, especially on the defensive side of
the ball there. We got a lot of them—[Richard] Seymour, [Tedy] Bruschi, Vince
[Wilfork], I think there’s a couple more we need to get in there, and
obviously, Ty [Law].”
A third-round draft pick of the Steelers out of Ohio State in
1997, Vrabel played four seasons in Pittsburgh, eight in New England and then
two in Kansas City. After retiring he went into coaching, first at Ohio State
and then with the Texans before becoming the Titans’ head coach in 2018.
