Coach of the New England Patriots Mike Vrabel he will definitely be supported by his wife of 25 years, Jen Vrabelwhen his team hits the field in Super Bowl LX.
The Patriots will return to the Big Game as AFC champions against the NFC champions, the Seattle Seahawks, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 8, 2026. The turnaround in fortunes for the New England team has been remarkable, as Vrabel has been hired by the Patriots to replace them. Jerod Mayo in January 2025 after a disastrous 4-13 season. (Mayo lasted only one season as the Patriots’ head coach after taking over Bill Belichick last year.)
Jen enjoyed her husband throughout his 26 years in the NFL, first as a player and later as a coach. Mike joked when he accepted the job as Patriots head coach that Jen had “been along for the ride for a long time.”
During that 25 year “journey”, Mike and Jen welcomed their two sons, Tyler again Carterboth of whom had college athletic careers of their own. Tyler played football like his father until he signed with the Atlanta Falcons in 2022 while Carter played baseball.
Keep scrolling to find out more about the Vrabels’ marriage and Jen’s private life outside the spotlight.
Mike Vrabel and Jen Vrabel Have Been Together Since College
Mike and Jen Vrabel were college sweethearts when they both attended Ohio State University. The couple told The Tennessean in 2018 that Jen started seeing Mike in a freshman time management class and got his number from the professor.
The two were arrested for being student athletes. Mike played defensive back for the Buckeyes on scholarship, and Jen played for the Ohio State volleyball team from 1993 to 1996.
“Ohio State has had a huge impact on my life and my wife’s,” Mike said in 2006.
A year after Mike was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1997, Jen graduated from Ohio State with a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene in 1998. He was an All-Big Ten and Academic All-Big Ten honoree during his college years at Ohio State.
Mike often credits Jen for sticking by him as he made the transition from college athletics to the NFL.
“[Jen] challenged me to enter the NFL after a brief stint at Ohio State,” Mike said in 2018.
Mike Vrabel and Jen Vrabel are the parents of two sons
Mike Vrabel was playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers when he and Jen Vrabel tied the knot in 1999. They share two sons: Tyler Vrabel, born in June 2000, and Carter Michael Vrabel, born in November 2001.
Initially, Jen worked as a dentist in Columbus, Ohio, while Mike spent most of his time in Pittsburgh. Mike’s NFL schedule meant he was on the road a lot during both of Jen’s pregnancies – including when he gave birth to Carter.
Robert Kraft presents a bouquet to Jen Vrabel, wife of Mike Vrabel.
Billie Weiss/Getty Images“I’ll just tell you about my wife. She gave birth to Carter, I missed it, I was in Ohio,” he recalled in 2018. “He arrived in the morning, passed out, and they had to take him.”
Mike admitted that he finally arrived “four hours later” to check on his wife and newborn son.
“I was playing football and he had a baby,” he joked. “I love him to death. He’s been through a lot and he understands this league.”
Mike and Jen Vrabel Raise Their Children on the Football Field
Tyler and Carter Vrabel were raised around football their entire lives, as their father Mike Vrabel started playing in the NFL and later coached for multiple franchises.
“They’ve been in an NFL locker room since they were born,” Mike said of his sons in 2018.
Tyler played college football at Boston College and later joined the Atlanta Falcons as an offensive tackle in 2022. He returned to his alma mater at Boston College as an offensive line advisor to the coaching staff in 2025.
Carter loved baseball and stepped onto the diamond at Wabash Valley College, Volunteer State Community College and Tennessee Tech while majoring in different studies.
Jen Vrabel Poke About Her Role As NFL Wife
Jen Vrabel has not been very visible in her husband’s work, although she has been open The Tennessean in 2018 regarding the dangers of her husband’s work.
“I always knew when he was hit because he would be really good,” he joked. “Good until the end.”
Jen used to share fun moments from Mike Vrabel’s playing and training days via social media in the 2010s until she took her X private a few years ago.
Mike and Jen Vrabel Put Their Family First
Mike Vrabel had an impressive NFL career winning three Super Bowls as a player before being named the head coach of the New England Patriots in January 2025. (Mike’s coaching career began with a return to Ohio State as a defensive backs coach for two years between 2011 and 2013. He went on to the NFL 14 to 2 Houston and 2 Tennessee from 2 Houston and 2 Houston Titans from 2018 to in 2023 and the Cleveland Browns in 2024.)
Jen Vrabel told ESPN in 2019 that she and Mike made their family a priority despite her husband’s growing coaching profile.
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“Fridays are always our night because we have a teenage son who doesn’t want to spend time with mom and dad, so he goes to high school football games,” Jen explained. “It’s fun. He usually comes home early, and we have dinner. When he was coaching in college, he didn’t really have nights like that, so we enjoy those nights. It was like when he was playing. Friday was always the best. It was like date night or family night.
Mike confirmed Athletic in 2025 where he takes his first long break from football in decades – or possibly ever – to celebrate Jen’s 25th wedding anniversary on a 10-day getaway to Italy.
