The Bill Belichick coaching tree hasn’t been exactly an embarrassment of riches when it comes to wins for other organizations.
Matt Patricia. Joe Judge. Bill O’Brien. They are some recent examples of former Patriots assistant coaches who have fallen on some hard times 2020 as head coaches the NFL. Then there was Josh McDaniels’ stint in Denver which didn’t even last two seasons and resulted in a 11-17 record for the then-34-year-old.
But one success story is Mike Vrabel.
Vrabel never coached under Belichick but he did play for the Patriots’ head man. And it seems like the former linebacker has struck a very good balance when it comes to exactly how much he should siphon from his time in New England, currently guiding an undefeated Titans team after taking them to the AFC Championship Game last season.
Appearing on OMF with Glenn Ordway, Christian Fauria and Lou Merloni, Vrabel’s former teammate, ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi, offered his take on where it has gone right for the Titans’ head coach and where it went wrong for McDaniels.
“Vrabes was always good at taking everything Bill was doing but also was quick to call BS on the things he didn’t think was right. Not being that clone that Josh McDaniels got caught up in his first time over over at Denver,” Bruschi said. “I’m not afraid to say it. I’ve talked to players. That’s what he was trying to be. You know the sense of a copycat. I think Josh has learned from that. He’ll do a great job his second time around. I know he’s going to get one. I’m still in his camp. He’s going to be a good head coach. But Vrabes, none of that is in him. He was a player. He has won championships. He knew what was right. We would call Bill Belichick out in the meetings. We weren’t afraid to do that. He has taken that over to the head coach role in terms of you can still be a Bill Belichick type of coach and demand a lot of of your players but still have your own personality and realize that sometimes the relationship is OK to be formed if you have that type of personality. Vrabes has that type of personality where he can get everyone playing hard for him and get all of his assistant coaches on the same page.
“To have information is one thing, but I really believe that when you’re at the head coaching position you need to be a leader guys can look to. The tone-setting that you have has to be genuine and real. And the players can sense this, at any level. Guys talking to you in the room, is that real? Do I agree with that? Does this guy know where I’m coming from? Those type of questions players have. Looking back at a head coach that is saying something to them in a team meeting or a pregame talk or something like that, how real is the coach? Vrabel is 100 percent real.”
McDaniels continues to be rumored for NFL head coaching vacancies, including the job in Atlanta that just opened up after Dan Quinn’s dismissal.
