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Cleveland Browns consultant Mike Vrabel during training camp
at The Greenbrier
Published: Jul. 31, 2024, 5:53 p.m.
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- It’s hard to believe Mike Vrabel isn’t a head coach in the NFL this season, but his bad luck in the coaching cycle is good fortune for the Browns and both parties will benefit from being together, for however long their relationship lasts
“I remember when (head coach) Kevin (Stefanski) and I were talking about (hiring Vrabel), we were like, ‘Do you think he’d do this?’” GM Andrew Berry said on Monday. “Or he’s going to maybe want to take the year off with his family? And so we kind of came in softly, tactfully, and it was, from the very beginning, ‘Oh, yeah, I’d love to do this.’”
Vrabel’s time as head coach in Tennessee came to an end last January after six years of generally overachieving, building a reputation as a hard-nosed, detail-oriented coach who wreaked havoc as an underdog and wasn’t afraid to play chicken with his former head coach, Bill Belichick.
He’s the perfect mix of football guy and analytics, bridging the gap between the two sides, learning from the likes of Belichick and Urban Meyer about building winning programs.
“He has such a unique perspective because here’s a former All-Pro player, coached in Power 5 college, defensive coordinator and then very, very successful head coach in Tennessee,” Berry said. “So there’s nothing that he hasn’t seen or that he can’t provide insight into, whether it’s how we’re practicing on the field, how we game plan, player development and player support areas, how we think about acquiring players.”
Vrabel ending up in Cleveland during this unexpected gap year is a testament to how stable the Browns organization has become in such a short time under Berry and Stefanski. Vrabel certainly doesn’t need this job. He’s a hot name in the next coaching cycle before it even begins. He and Belichick might be the two scariest men in football, at least if you’re a coach whose seat is starting the season a little warm.
“Have a lot of respect for this organization,” Vrabel said. “What (owners) Jimmy and Dee (Haslam) have done, have a ton of respect for Andrew and Kevin and what they’ve been able to do in a short amount of time. And I trust them and I trust them that they would do right by me and that they would help me and that the position and the fit would be beneficial to everybody.”
For Stefanski, there are plenty of coaches who might be intimidated having Vrabel in the building, even if they’re a two-time coach of the year. Vrabel is a native son, someone the Browns probably should have hired in 2018 instead of running it back with Hue Jackson after his 1-31 masterpiece.
After a brief detour, it worked out just fine and the Browns ended up with Stefanski and Berry at the helm.
Instead of being intimidated — admittedly two NFL of the Year awards and a new extension make it easier — Stefanski and Berry understand the importance of having smart people around and being opportunistic to take advantage of however long Vrabel is not in a head coaching chair.
“We’re probably on borrowed time with him,” Berry admitted.
You see how the Browns are benefitting every day when Vrabel spends time with the tight ends or working alongside his former teammate, Bubba Ventrone, on special teams.
This is a two way street, though, and Vrabel is going to benefit from his time here in ways you can’t see.
He has been working with Berry and his staff and was helping in the pre-draft process, writing up reports on players, almost making it sound like he was doing work the scouting staff does.
“They give you a list of players, you try to evaluate them, you try to figure out what they can do, figure out what they do best, figure out what their areas of focus are, write up a report and then when asked about them in the meeting, try to give a concise answer to how you see the player, how they could fit, what roles they could fill, what positions they may be able to play,” Vrabel said, “and if they don’t call on you, then you just go on to the next player.”
Yes, Vrabel brings his knowledge and background as a player and coach for members of this organization to learn from, but he’s learning, too. He’s being exposed to how a team like the Browns, who rely heavily on data and analytics, approach player acquisition and team-building as well as how they utilize information on the field.
“This is the opportunity that I think is best for me right now to be able to go through draft meetings, personnel meetings with Andrew and his staff and see how that all got navigated and how they may do things,” he said. “And there’s 32 flavors in this league and everybody does it a little differently. So it’s been fun to be a part of this and try to help where I can and most especially learn.”
Vrabel is like a USB stick already loaded with valuable information and now he’s getting plugged into a Browns organization on the leading edge of football’s analytics revolution. The Browns are getting plenty of information from him, but he’ll go back into the coaching world soon, too, after he unplugs, having learned new ways of doing things, adding to his vast store of knowledge.
The Browns and Vrabel are a perfect match, and not just because Vrabel ate dog bones in junior high. The two sides are helping each other — the Browns benefitting from one of the game’s top coaches helping players and other coaches grow and develop and Vrabel gets to learn some new tricks, too, as he sets up his next move.
He’s also being reminded of what football can be.
“You can work hard and have a good time at the same time,” Vrabel said.
He’s doing both with the Browns and both he and the Browns will be better because of it.
