Mike Vrabel is no stranger to the Super Bowl stage - but this Sunday, he’ll be stepping onto it in a whole new role. The former linebacker turned head coach has the New England Patriots back in the big game, and in his very first season at the helm, no less. A win over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 60 wouldn’t just be a crowning achievement for a rookie head coach - it would put Vrabel in the NFL history books as the first person to win a Super Bowl as both a player and a head coach with the same franchise.
That’s not just a cool footnote. That’s legacy-defining stuff.
Vrabel already owns three Super Bowl rings from his playing days in New England (2001, 2003, 2004), where he was a key part of the Patriots’ early dynasty under Bill Belichick. Now, he’s one win away from adding a fourth ring - this time from the sidelines, calling the shots.
But before the confetti falls, Vrabel and the Patriots have a serious challenge in front of them. The Seattle Seahawks aren’t just happy to be here - they’re built to win now.
And while most of the spotlight will naturally fall on the quarterbacks and head coaches, don’t sleep on the impact of special teams. That’s where one name keeps coming up in Foxborough: Rashid Shaheed.
On a recent episode of the “Dudes on Dudes” podcast, Patriots insider Mike Reiss joined former New England greats Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman to preview the matchup. When asked which Seahawks player the Patriots are keeping a close eye on, Reiss didn’t hesitate: “Rashid Shaheed.”
“He’s like, to them, what Marcus Jones is for the Patriots,” Reiss said. And that’s not a comparison the Patriots make lightly.
Jones has been a Swiss Army knife for New England - a game-changer on returns and a spark plug in the open field. The fact that Shaheed is being mentioned in the same breath tells you all you need to know about how seriously the Patriots are taking him.
And they should. Shaheed’s numbers since joining Seattle midseason are eye-catching.
Traded from the New Orleans Saints in November after signing a reported one-year, $5.2 million deal in the offseason, Shaheed made an immediate impact. In just nine regular-season games with the Seahawks, he racked up 418 yards and a touchdown on 14 kick returns, plus 210 yards and another score on 13 punt returns.
Add in 188 receiving yards on 15 catches and 64 yards on seven carries, and you’ve got a versatile weapon who can hurt you in a lot of ways.
For a Patriots team that prides itself on discipline and situational football, Shaheed’s explosiveness is a legitimate concern. One missed assignment or poor lane discipline on special teams, and he can flip the field - or the scoreboard - in a heartbeat.
This is where Vrabel’s experience comes into play. He’s been in these moments before.
He knows how small details can swing a Super Bowl. And you can bet he’s drilling his special teams unit on containment, angles, and tackling fundamentals all week long.
But that’s just one storyline in a game full of them. Vrabel’s return to the Patriots, now as the leader of the franchise he once helped dominate the league with, is a full-circle moment that fans in New England won’t soon forget - especially if it ends with another Lombardi Trophy.
The stakes are sky-high. The matchup is loaded with intrigue. And if Mike Vrabel can guide the Patriots to one more win, he won’t just be remembered as a great Patriot - he’ll be etched into NFL history as one of the rare few to conquer the Super Bowl as both a player and a coach, all while wearing the same iconic uniform.