Pats Pulpit
Mike Vrabel and Jim Harbaugh are both experienced coaches in the NFL, and yet they have never squared off against one another. When the former became a head coach in 2018, the latter had already left the league to coach at his alma mater, Michigan.
On Sunday, they will cross paths for a first time when Vrabel’s New England Patriots play hosts to Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers in the wild card round of the playoffs. Though they lack familiarity with one another, they did not shy away from exchange pleasantries heading into the meeting — pleasantries that give an interesting insight into how Vrabel and his team are viewed outside of New England.
“The thing that sticks out to me, it’s like his teams play like he played,” said Harbaugh about his Patriots counterpart. “I do notice that. Tough, gritty, physical, smart, fast. They kind of like to hit like he liked to hit. That’s what I’ve noticed.”
While Harbaugh is unfamiliar with going up against Vrabel the coach, he squared off against Vrabel the player on three occasions between 1997 and 1998. Harbaugh was quarterback in Indianapolis and Baltimore, Vrabel a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Almost three decades later, they will meet again albeit in vastly different capacities. The play on the field, meanwhile, will be determined by a new generation of players — one including MVP candidate Drake Maye as the Patriots’ quarterback.
Harbaugh, himself a veteran of 145 NFL starts at the position, naturally knows a thing or two about QB performance.
“Just really effective in every part of the quarterback play,” he said about Maye. “Throwing with accuracy, throwing outside the numbers, deep, in the middle, athleticism, poise, toughness, durability — everything. It’s been a great year for him by any quarterback standard.”
Harbaugh singing the Patriots’ praises has not been a one-way street this week. Vrabel himself also spoke highly of the Chargers and their coach.
“They play great defense,” he said. “They’re very sound. They’re good tacklers. They’re physical. They get off the field on third down. They’re good in the red zone. They run the football. It’s a physical football team. They possess the football. They lead the NFL in time of possession. They have very good quarterback play. They’re well coached. They play with technique and fundamentals. The game, it doesn’t – they don’t panic one way or the other. They kind of stick to their game plan, wear you down and execute in critical situations. So, a lot of respect for them and certainly what they’ve done in a short amount of time.”
