CHESTNUT HILL – Along with family photos, the walls inside Bill O’Brien’s Boston College office are adorned with photos taken at different stages of his coaching career.
On one wall is O’Brien with Tom Brady. Another has him with Rob Gronkowski. Those were taken when O’Brien was the Patriots offensive coordinator during his first stint in the role.
Moving around the room, another framed picture was from O’Brien’s time as head coach of the Houston Texans. Patriots coach Mike Vrabel is displayed prominently in that photo.
Their paths first crossed during Vrabel’s final seasons as a Patriots player. Years later, O’Brien hired him to be his linebackers coach with the Texans. Then he coached against him when Vrabel took over as the Tennessee Titans head coach.
Today, they’re coaching neighbors, O’Brien at the helm in Chestnut Hill, Vrabell now in charge in Foxborough.
Having worked with him, and on opposite sides, O’Brien holds Vrabel in the highest regard as a coach.
“He’s very knowledgeable. He’s very competent in what he knows in all three phases. He played all three phases, defense, special teams and he did some offense. He was in all three meetings, and he brings that to coaching,” O’Brien said. “He learned a lot from being around some really good coaches. Urban Meyer at Ohio State, Romeo Crennel in Houston, so he has a great knowledge base.”
All of that works in Vrabel’s favor. O’Brien, who enters his second year at BC, then identified the “trick” that puts Vrabel over the top.
“All the great coaches have the knowledge base, but they also have a personality that connects with the players,” O’Brien said. “Mike’s able to understand the player, get to know the player, and inspire the player to do things that maybe the player didn’t think he could do. He has the ability to develop players and get them to play at a high level.
“He’s demanding, he’s tough but he’s also very fair.”
With a roster that’s currently among the worst in the league, getting players to perform above and beyond is part of the job description.
Vrabel is also good at the X’s and O’s, and does well with the make-or-break game situations that inevitably come up.
“He’s very situationally aware,” O’Brien said. “He was prepared for so many years by Bill Belichick, who is a great situational coach. He’s close to Tom Brady, who was a great situational quarterback. So he’s learned from the best.
“But he’s also a bright guy. And he has his guy Stretch (John Streicher) who’s really good at that stuff, too.”
Streicher worked with Vrabel in Tennessee and will serve as the Patriots vice president of football operations and strategy.
First and foremost, O’Brien said he appreciates Vrabel as a friend. They’ve remained close over the years.
“What I love about Mike, he is who he is,” O’Brien said. “He’s a guy who’s very smart, he’s got a quick wit, he cares about his friends, he’s invested in his job, but he’s also very aware of what’s going on with his buddies.
“He’s just a genuine guy. He’s a man’s man.”
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