Cleveland Browns hire Mike Vrabel, former Ohio State football star, to coaching staff
Former Ohio State star Mike Vrabel has found a job ahead of the 2024 NFL season.
Vrabel, who spent the past six seasons as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans, was hired by the Cleveland Browns as a coaching and personnel consultant per ESPN.
Browns are hiring former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel as a coaching and personnel consultant, per @FieldYates and me. Vrabel now returns to Ohio, where he was a standout Ohio State LB. pic.twitter.com/NPhXHhTe1q
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2024
According to NFL Network, Vrabel was with the Browns at the NFL Combine.
Vrabel started his coaching career in 2011 as Ohio State's linebackers coach. He switched to coaching Ohio State's defensive line in the first two seasons under Urban Meyer before becoming the Houston Texans' linebackers coach in 2014. Vrabel was the Texans' defensive coordinator in 2017.
Hailing from Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Vrabel, who played defensive end at Ohio State from 1993-96, was named as the Big Ten's Defensive Lineman of the Year as both a junior and senior while also earning All-American honors in each season. He was a three-time first-team All-Big Ten selection.
In 1995, Vrabel set a school record with 13 sacks in one season, which has since been surpassed by Chase Young (16.5), Vernon Gholston (14) and Joey Bosa (13.5). Vrabel's 13 sacks beat his own rcord of 12, which he set in 1994.
Vrabel has the most career sacks of any Ohio State player in program history, finishing his four-season stint with 36 sacks. Young, who played from 2017-19, is the only other Ohio State player to reach 30, ending his college career with 30.5 sacks.
After four seasons at Ohio State, Vrabel was a third-round NFL draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1997.
Vrabel played in 206 career NFL games across 14 seasons with the Steelers, New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, accumulating 57 sacks and 63 tackles-for-loss. He was named to a Pro Bowl and was named first-team All-Pro in 2007 for the Patriots after finishing with 12.5 sacks and nine tackles-for-loss.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mike Vrabel, former Ohio State football star, joins Cleveland Browns
