Titans better brace for Vra-ball, because it's going to hit hard

Jen Vrabel had her own concussion test for her husband when he played in the NFL.

“I always knew when he had a concussion because he would be really nice,” Jen said of Mike Vrabel, the new head coach of the Tennessee Titans. “Nice to the point of weird.”

And that’s what she saw on Nov. 24, 2012 in Columbus, Ohio, in the aftermath of Ohio State’s 26-21 win over rival Michigan. Vrabel, defensive line coach for the Buckeyes, was naturally happy about the result, but he was borderline delirious as he hugged Jen. It might have had something to do with the large gash on his forehead, which needed stitching after it oozed blood onto his face through a bandage during the game.

He was so worked up before the game, he had head-butted Ohio State offensive lineman Corey Linsley in warmups. A bare forehead smashing into a facemask. Jen later tweeted a close-up picture of the gory results and wrote: “Best not to head-butt a guy w/ a helmet on when you aren't wearing one!! #einstein.”

That story, among many others about the 42-year-old Vrabel, conveys the one certainty about his tenure ahead in Nashville: It will be intense. There’s no telling if Vrabel can take a team that just won 19 games in the past two seasons under Mike Mularkey, including a playoff win, and improve on that success. He hasn’t found his offensive and defensive coordinators yet, and for all the excitement around the league about his potential, his competence as an NFL CEO is unknown.

But there will be no question of who’s in charge, nothing held back and nothing wishy-washy when Vrabel takes that sideline. That’s the word from those who know him best, and those who have played for him and covered him. If this works, the Titans will reflect him on the field. Vra-ball will be known for its ferocity.

“It’s kind of like having your brother out there coaching you,” Houston Texans defensive end D.J. Reader said of Vrabel’s work last season as defensive coordinator, after Vrabel coached Texans linebackers from 2014-16. “He’ll tease you, make fun of you, yell at you, he’s going to make it tough. But he knows how to make football fun.”

In the words of Houston Chronicle columnist John McClain, who has covered the NFL since 1977: “I’ve seen Mike screaming at his players, but then they run through walls for him. He’s a commanding presence, very demanding. He lets his players know exactly where they stand at all times — there will be no ambiguity with him.”

There hasn’t been any about Vrabel’s career intentions since he moved on from Walsh Jesuit High in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio to play defensive end for Ohio State in 1993. The son of educators, his father a basketball coach, Vrabel vowed he would coach some day as well.

“And that was back in the day when coaching was coaching,” said Cincinnati Bearcats football coach Luke Fickell, Vrabel’s roommate at Ohio State. “Coaches weren’t making so much money, it wasn’t what some guys see nowadays when they say, ‘Wow, I want to be a coach, look at what these guys were making.’ Mike just wanted to coach. High school coach, college coach, just a coach.”

But after making more than $20 million in a surprising, 14-year NFL playing career, Vrabel had to prove he still had that desire.

It started at Ohio State for Vrabel, twice

Jen Boleyn couldn’t help but notice Vrabel in their massive freshman lecture class on time management. He always sat in the front and he was always talking. Eventually she found him funny enough to ask the professor for his phone number, and the 5-foot-10 volleyball player — who is still among Ohio State’s all-time assists leaders — and 6-4 football player quickly became inseparable.

Same with Vrabel and Fickell, who was a year ahead in school and hosted Vrabel on his recruiting visit to Ohio State. Vrabel, a self-sufficient only child, cooked and Fickell cleaned. They competed at everything, sometimes taking epic wrestling matches past 2 a.m. on a weekend night.

They played on the defensive line for John Cooper’s Buckeyes, and Vrabel was a constant source of chatter as well. He’d let anyone have it, including OSU offensive coordinator Joe Hollis if the defense was beating up on the offense in practice.

“He sure wasn’t afraid to speak up, and he hated to lose,” Cooper said. “He’d get after his teammates if he didn’t think they were giving enough effort, and it’s hard to find guys who are willing to do that. Mike’s one of those guys that never missed practice, never took a play off, never made mistakes. He’s one of the five or 10 best players I’ve ever coached.”

He was Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year as a junior and senior, then went in the third round of the 1997 draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This was the NFL dream but also the opportunity to start work on what Vrabel called this week his “doctorate degree of coaching.” He was picking coach Bill Cowher’s brain while trying to stay in the league.

Vrabel was mostly a special teams player with the Steelers, always fighting for one of the final roster spots. On final cuts day, Jen waited for him to call her. She wanted to call him, but she resisted and waited. It was always good news.

Jen worked in Columbus as a dental hygienist, driving back and forth each week. They married in 1999, and their son Tyler came along in Vrabel’s fourth season with the Steelers. After that, Vrabel’s future as a player was in doubt, until New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick came calling.

Jen remembers getting that call from her husband, too — the Patriots wanted to sign him.

“I was like, ‘Wait, the Patriots are going to sign you and you’re going to start for them?’” Jen recalled. “’I’m so confused. I mean awesome, but, for real?’ ”

Fickell, then the defensive line coach for Akron, called Vrabel to congratulate him on finally achieving some NFL security.

“I said, ‘Well, so much for coaching, brother,’” Fickell said. “And I remember specifically, he said, “(Expletive) you. I’m still going to coach.’ ”

Proving himself all over again

Eight seasons, three Super Bowl rings, lots of brain picking and millions of dollars later, Vrabel was traded along with quarterback Matt Cassel to the Kansas City Chiefs for a second-round pick. He played two seasons and then, when Fickell was named Ohio State’s interim head coach in May of 2011 after Jim Tressel resigned, Vrabel called Fickell and said: “Give me a reason to retire.”

Fickell wasn’t so sure. As an NFL player, Vrabel still had a fair amount of free time for Jen and their sons, Tyler and Carter. College coaching is an endless grind of recruiting. Fickell paid a visit, sipped a beer and asked if Vrabel would be better off as a non-traveling assistant strength coach.

“He looked me dead in the eye,” Fickell said. “And again, he said, ‘(Expletive) you.’ ”

Vrabel was an immediate asset as the Buckeyes’ linebackers coach in 2011. When Urban Meyer got the full-time job in 2012, he kept Fickell on as defensive coordinator. He had no intention of keeping Vrabel. Fickell campaigned.

“We were talking about Mike,” Fickell recalled, “and (Meyer) said, ‘Eh, he doesn’t need to do the coaching gig. It’s tough and if he doesn’t have to do it, I can’t imagine I can push this guy.’”

But Meyer gave Vrabel a shot and told him to prove he could land a big-time recruit. As detailed in Bill Rabinowitz’s 2013 book, “Buckeye Rebirth,” that recruit was defensive lineman Noah Spence of Harrisburg, Pa. Vrabel started working with Spence on pass-rushing techniques in the living room, and it got physical, and when Vrabel left that night he had scrapes on his face and a recruit sold on the Buckeyes.

Vrabel sought an NFL jump in 2014, in part because it’s more of a family-friendly job than college coaching, and former Patriots assistant Bill O’Brien brought him to Houston to coach linebackers. The rise has been as intense as Vrabel’s coaching.

Reader said before each practice, Vrabel likes to grab a large “shield” pad and take hits from his players.

“And if you hit him soft at all,” Reader said, “he’ll have many choice words to say about you.”

It’s not all grunting and grappling, of course. Vrabel absorbed the coaching of Cowher, Belichick and Meyer, and as a player he figured he needed to learn every position on the defense to give him as much of an edge as possible.

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King wrote a Jan. 2 piece explaining why Vrabel was the hot young name in coaching this year, citing his “presence,” his mentors and winning past, and his reputation as a unifier. The Rams actually reached out to him last year but hired Sean McVay before Vrabel got an interview.

The Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts interviewed Vrabel before he talked with Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk and GM Jon Robinson last week. From there, Vrabel took Tyler to Boston College on Friday for his official visit. Tyler has signed to play offensive tackle for the Golden Eagles.

Vrabel called Jen from Boston. Here’s her transcript of the call:

Mike: “I just left a meeting and I got the Titans job.”

Jen: “What?!”

Mike: “I know. But I’ve got to go back in, we’re meeting with the dean of the business school.”

Jen: “OK, well, call me later. Holy crap!”

It’s been non-stop since then. Jen had to drive to Nashville from Houston because she recently broke her leg skiing in Utah and can’t fly. Before driving back Tuesday, she found a house she liked and put a bid in on it. There was no time to mess with a realtor.

And Vrabel is at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., this week, trying to evaluate players while building a staff. Cooper is there and had a chance to congratulate his former star player. Reader is there, too, and he told Vrabel he’s happy for him and knows he’ll do a great job.

“And I told him,” Reader said, “we’re gonna kick his ass.”

Contact Joe Rexrode at jrexrode@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @joerexrode.