Who Is Mike Vrabel's Wife? All About Jen Vrabel and Her Relationship with the Patriots Coach

NEED TO KNOW

• New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel met his wife, Jen Vrabel, when they were student-athletes at Ohio State University
• Mike and Jen married in 1999
• The former NFL player and his wife share two sons

When Mike Vrabel coaches the New England Patriots at the 2026 Super Bowl on Feb. 8, his wife, Jen Vrabel, will be cheering him on.

The couple met at Ohio State University, where Jen noticed Mike in class and got his number through their professor, according to The Tennessean. After connecting, the student-athletes dated, and Jen was still in school when the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Mike in the 1997 draft.

The following year, Jen graduated with a bachelor's degree in dental hygiene, and by 1999, she and Mike were married. Since then, the pair have experienced several milestones together, including welcoming two children.

On the field, Mike's professional football career spanned over a decade, earning accolades with three different teams, until he retired in 2011. Afterward, the Super Bowl-winning player went on to coach at his alma mater. Mike credited his wife for challenging him “to get into the NFL after spending some time at Ohio State.”

In a press conference introducing him as the Tennessee Titans’ head coach in 2018, Mike spoke about Jen, thanking her for her support. “I love her to death,” he said. “She's been through a lot, and she understands this league.”

The former linebacker expressed his gratitude again in 2025 when he returned to his old team, the Patriots, as head coach. “I want to thank Jen, who's been along for this ride for quite a while," he shared.

So who is Mike Vrabel's wife? Here’s everything to know about Jen Vrabel and her relationship with the NFL star.

She was a student-athlete at the Ohio State University

Both Mike and Jen attended Ohio State University, although they didn't earn their diplomas at the same time.

She graduated from the Big Ten School in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene, according to an Ohio State Buckeyes press release. Meanwhile, he returned to the college in 2004 to earn his bachelor’s degree in exercise science.

"Ohio State has had a great impact on the lives of my wife and me," the NFL coach said in 2006.

Like her husband, Jen was a college athlete. While Mike played football, she was on the school's volleyball team from 1993 to 1996.

According to the Ohio State Buckeyes website, she was a two-time AVCA All-District selection, in addition to a two-time All-Big Ten and Academic All-Big Ten honoree.

She made the first move after seeing Mike in class

Jen first noticed Mike in their freshman lecture class on time management, according to a 2018 interview with The Tennessean.

She told the outlet that he sat at the front of the classroom and always talked. Eventually, she “found him funny enough to ask the professor for his phone number,” and they “quickly became inseparable.”

Mike was drafted to the NFL the year before Jen graduated from Ohio State. The Steelers selected the football player in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft.

They have been married for over 25 years

While Mike and Jen haven't revealed many details about their relationship, they wed in 1999.

The pair celebrated 25 years of marriage in 2024 with a 10-day trip to Italy, which The New York Times described as the coach’s “first true vacation ... maybe ever.”

She and Mike share two sons

Mike and Jen welcomed their first son Tyler on June 24, 2000.

Speaking to the Atlanta Falcons in 2023, Tyler recalled celebrating with his dad and the rest of the Patriots team when they won the 2004 Super Bowl against the Carolina Panthers. The father and son were photographed together on the field, signaling No. 1 with their hands.

Mike and Jen grew their family again with the birth of their son Carter on Nov. 20, 2001. Years later, the NFL star revealed that he missed the special moment.

“I'm not proud to say this, but I'm just going to tell you about my wife. She gave birth to Carter, I missed it, I was at practice, she was in Ohio,” Mike said at a 2018 press conference. “He came early, he flipped, they had to take her. I showed up four hours late because I was playing football and she was having a baby.”

Naturally, the boys grew up surrounded by football. "They've been around the NFL locker room since they've been born," he added at the event.

Since then, the couple's kids have followed in their athletic footsteps. In 2017, Tyler committed to Boston College, where he was an offensive tackle. Five years later, he was added to the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad, per an announcement. Today, Tyler is an assistant coach for Boston College's football team.

Meanwhile, Carter committed to play baseball at Wabash Valley College and later played at Volunteer State Community College and Tennessee Tech.

She and Mike "cherish" their downtime together

Mike and Jen “cherish” their Friday evenings together. In 2019, Jen revealed to ESPN that “Fridays are always” their nights because they had a teenage son who, at the time, did not want to “hang out with Mom and Dad.”

“It's fun. He's usually home earlier, and we grab dinner,” she said. “When he coached in college, he really didn't have a night like that, so we cherish that night. It was the same when he played."

Jen continued, "Fridays were always the best. It became like a date night or family night."

Read the original article on People