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Akron
Beacon Journal
Chuck and Elaine Vrabel traveled to the
Nashville area this past spring to watch their grandson Carter play in a doubleheader for
Tennessee Tech University's baseball team.
The
couple's son, Tennessee Titans coach and Walsh Jesuit
High School graduate Mike Vrabel, met them during the first game
and proceeded to unpack a large grill and three coolers from his pickup truck.
Between
the two games, Tennessee Tech players visited Mike Vrabel's portable cooking station
and, by Chuck's estimation, consumed a combined 75 hot dogs, 35 hamburgers and
countless bottles of Gatorade.
When the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame inducted
Mike on Tuesday night during its banquet at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox
Church in Akron, Chuck and Elaine Vrabel were in attendance along with former
longtime Walsh football coach Gerry Rardin.
Chuck accepted the honor on behalf of
his son and explained he is most proud of Mike remaining down-to-earth despite
his fame as an NFL head coach and former standout edge defender whose best
seasons were with the New England Patriots.
“He's always going to be Mike,” Chuck
Vrabel said during his speech. “He's won championships, got accolades, three
Super Bowls, but it doesn't matter. He's still just Mike. If you were to meet
Mike this evening, he would just be Mike, and I'm very, very proud that that's
how he behaves and carries himself.”
Later,
Chuck told the Beacon Journal, “'He's just Mike' is my way of saying that it
hasn't gone to his head. He doesn't think that he's somebody. He still
appreciates people, and he's still working.”
Jeff
Sheeks, a board member of the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame, shakes hands
with Chuck Vrabel, father of NFL coach Mike Vrabel, during the awards banquet
on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, in Akron, Ohio, at Annunciation Greek Orthodox
Church.
Vrabel is working this week on preparing the
Titans (2-2) for their AFC South road game Sunday against the Indianapolis
Colts (2-2).
Anyone
who knows how many hours NFL coaches log could not have possibly been surprised
Vrabel didn't attend the SMCSHOF induction ceremony in the thick of football
season.
However,
Vrabel did send an acceptance speech via video. He thanked his parents, former
teammates and coaches, wife, Jen, and sons, Carter and Tyler, an Atlanta
Falcons offensive lineman. He also singled out Rardin for the influence he
provided at Walsh.
“Coach
Rardin just had a way about him,” Vrabel said in the video. “Looking back on
the job that he did, it kind of helped shape the coach that I wanted to be.
[He] had a great relationship with us in school, around the building, but then
also on the football field and being able to hold us accountable.”
Rardin
and Vrabel's parents accepted Mike's invitation to attend the Titans' 27-3 loss to the Browns (2-2)
on Sept. 24. They had pregame sideline passes at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Vrabel's
video shout-out resulted in another amazing experience for Rardin, who coached
Walsh for 35 seasons before retiring from coaching in 2014.
“It's hard to put in words how powerful
that is,” Rardin said of Vrabel's compliments. “For somebody of his caliber to
still be thinking of his high school coach, it means a lot.”
Hey,
he's just Mike.
Nate
Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On
Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
