Patriots coach Bill Belichick hasn’t had many reasons to smile this season. He’ll have one on Saturday, when former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel joins the franchise’s Hall of Fame.
With the Titans on a bye, Vrabel will be back in town, the day before the Patriots face the Bills. At a Friday press conference, Belichick was asked about Vrabel, who spent eight seasons in New England as a player.
“Mike’s one of the players, I would say, that really benefited from free agency,” Belichick told reporters. “He was on a very good team in Pittsburgh, played behind two very good players, didn’t get to play much — defensively, he played in the kicking game. We had an opportunity here. We were playing a 3-4 defense. He was a 3-4 outside linebacker. It was a good fit for him, and he had two good players ahead of him at Pittsburgh.
“So, he came here, had a great career, obviously he was a great match for Willie [McGinest]. Willie was a good complement to him. Having been through the [Carl] Banks/[Lawrence] Taylor situation at the Giants. That’s a good complement to have two good outside linebackers vs. one.
“Mike was a very cerebral player, smart player, played inside linebacker for us when we needed him — which wasn’t often, but he could do it. He was the kind of guy that at practice would take reps at every position, free safety, strong safety, occasionally defensive line. If there was a certain player we were trying to replicate, he would jump in there and do that.
“It was competitive, especially with him and [Tom] Brady, quite entertaining at times, to be honest with you. Mike had a great personality, great love for the game, passionate, high energy, very strong. Mike’s really strong, physically strong player, handled the tackles, obviously could handle tight ends, good power rusher and had enough moves to go with it. His strength was his length and his power and his intelligence. He was a good tackler.”
Belichick also credits Vrabel for being a good coach.
“No surprise that he went into coaching, no surprise he’s been successful,” Belichick said. “Good, smart football player and coach, good fundamentals.”
Belichick won’t see Vrabel again this season; the Titans and Patriots don’t play each other in 2023. A day with a little nostalgia and reminiscing with a talented and colorful character like Vrabel really will help Belichick get through what has been a horrible season — and could end up being his worst ever as a head coach.