It was over 20 years ago, but Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury were teammates for one season together with New England.
Vrabel was a veteran linebacker entering his third season with the club when the Patriots selected Kingsbury at No. 201 overall in the sixth round of the 2003 draft. Kingsbury spent that season on injured reserve as the team went on to win Super Bowl XXXVIII over the Panthers. With enough depth at quarterback, the Patriots cut Kingsbury at the start of the 2004 regular season.
So what does Vrabel remember about being Kingsbury’s teammate?
“He wasn’t better than Tom Brady,” Vrabel said in his Wednesday press conference, eliciting some laughter. “Kliff’s a good friend. I mean there’s a handful of coaches over there that I’ve played with in the league whether that’s a year, or in Larry [Izzo]’s case, eight years. So, they’ve got a good staff, they’ve got a good mix of guys that played in this league and other guys that didn’t, but that’s a good coaching staff that they have.
“Kliff’s really done a nice job everywhere he’s been, offensively.”
Kingsbury’s NFL career may not have gotten very far, but he did get a Super Bowl ring from that victory over the Panthers. Vrabel helped make it happen on both sides of the ball, catching a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of the season’s final game.
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