Tom Brady vs. Mike Vrabel: Former Patriots’ Star Exposes Intense Rivalry Between NFL Legends
One former Patriots star told the story of how Tom Brady and now-head coach Mike Vrabel would butt heads.
Tom Brady is without a doubt the most iconic figure in the history of the NFL. The legendary quarterback won seven Super Bowl rings, more than any other team in history.
In fact, he helped the New England Patriots, his team for almost 20 years, win all six of their Super Bowl championships, thus setting a record in the NFL that has yet to be beaten.
Brady was massively important to the Patriots, more than even the franchise ever knew. After his departure, they have struggled to make a push for the playoffs. Whereas he was able to win a seventh Super Bowl ring in his first season with the Buccaneers.
Now that he is retired, Brady is acknowledged as a legend of the Patriots. However, during his time with them, he often clashed with now-head coach Mike Vrabel.
Tom Brady and Mike Vrabel’s intense rivalry
Former New England Patriots star Vince Wilfork spoke in a recent interview. He mentioned, about his time on the Patriots, how Tom Brady and Mike Vrabel, had a major rivalry.
The two players would constantly butt heads with each other, and make sure that they each would have the last laugh.
“He [Brady] was so freaking competitive. It might have been him and Vrabel… They bet on two minutes. We get to minute two and we lose the ball. So Tom is pissed. Vrabel and Rodney are chirping at him.”
“They’re going back and forth… Now, they’re betting money. And they scored again, so Bill let him go again… Tom loses again, so run it back… Bill finally shut it down. Tom threw his helmet, he was pissed. I just picture Rodney and Vrabel, they’re just chirping at him, and Tom is so pissed off.”
“Vrabel would play on the scout team… He would just go out there and tear it up. He and Tom would go back and forth. Tom would be like ‘He’s not going to play it like that’ and Vrabel goes ‘Yes, the F he will.’”
“As a player to see your leaders be competitive, what it means to win, it was easy for us to fall in line and follow that.”
Clearly, the tense relationship between Vrabel and Brady was borne out of their competitiveness. Off the field, they always understood each other.
Vrabel and Brady found a lot of success together
Wilfork is far from the only former Patriot to speak about the duo’s dynamic together. Rob Gronkowski revealed Mike Vrabel was the only player who saw a particular side of Tom Brady.
Brady and Vrabel won three Super Bowl championships together, part of the Patriots’ dominant run in the 2000s. It was a pairing that yielded a lot of positive results for Bill Belichick.
Vrabel was also learning a lot from Brady and Belichick during his time on the Patriots. He was able to take his learnings and parlay it into a successful coaching career.
Now, Vrabel is in the same position as Belichick, as he tries to steer the ship of the Patriots in the right way after years of floundering after Brady’s departure.
