Sportsnaut
Mike Vrabel is in the middle of his first training camp as the head coach of the New England Patriots. It’s been a productive couple weeks of camp, and now the team is preparing for the preseason opener against the Washington Commanders.
Ahead of the game against the Commanders this Friday, the two teams are participating in joint practices in Foxboro. It’s good for both teams to get live reps against different players, and every rep counts as we get closer and closer to cut day.
With the Commanders in town, it’s a chance for Vrabel to reunite with old friend Kliff Kingsbury. Kingsbury is the current offensive coordinator for the Commanders and was briefly a teammate of Vrabel with the Patriots in 2003. On Wednesday, Vrabel was asked what he remembers about Kingsbury as a player, and he delivered a funny quip.
“He wasn’t better than Tom Brady,” said the coach in his typical blunt fashion.
That’s certainly a fair statement, considering Brady is the best quarterback of all time and Kingsbury played in just one career game. Kingsbury was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft after a successful career at Texas Tech.
However, the passer missed his entire rookie season due to an injury, and was waived by the Patriots before his second season. Kingsbury’s lone NFL action came in 2005 in a game for the New York Jets.
Kingsbury has had much more success in coach than he did as a player. Kingsbury’s first head coaching job was at his alma mater, Texas Tech, from 2013-18. The coach racked up a 35-40 record in Lubbock before becoming the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
While Kingsbury hasn’t had the most success as a head coach, he’s had more luck as an offensive coordinator. The coach helped the Commanders go all the way to the NFC Championship Game in his first season as the OC in 2024.
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