FOXBORO, Mass. — Mike Vrabel spent nine seasons with New England Patriots and Sunday he’ll be coaching against his former head coach when the Pats take on the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium.
The linebacker-turned-coach was mightily praised by Bill Belichick on Wednesday, saying Vrabel’s stamina and his need to stay on the field made him a priceless player. Belichick also noted Vrabel would act as Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed on scout team defense, and during Vrabel’s conference call Wednesday afternoon, he was asked to give a self-assessment of his performance.
“You’d have to ask Tom (Brady) but I think I did pretty well. There were interceptions back then in practice,” Vrabel said. “But those guys didn’t have any responsibilities so it was easy for me to do that. Tom would get mad, he would know what the card said and he would tell me where I was supposed to be and I told him I was gonna be wherever I wanted to be … there was certainly a bunch of back and forth but that’s what made going to practice part of the reason you play the game.”
Sunday’s matchup marks the first time Belichick will coach against one of his formers players. And with Vrabel’s Titans leading the NFL in defense, the head coach may have another chance to make Brady mad.
