Before Mike Vrabel was an AP Coach of the Year, leading New England to the Super Bowl, he was a sweaty, unprepared mess when he stepped into the coaching life. To make matters worse, he nearly bombed the most important coaching interview of his life.

After hanging up his cleats, Vrabel was hired as the linebackers coach by Ohio State. On paper, the decision made sense. A former Buckeye, a three-time Super Bowl winner returning to coach at his alma mater. But things changed when Urban Meyer came to Columbus as head coach in December 2011. Despite the VIP tag attached to Vrabel, the seasoned head coach wasn’t too keen on keeping him on in his inaugural staff.

“Mike Vrabel’s a great player, but this is Ohio State,” Meyer recalled of his conversation with Luke Fickell on the Triple Option Podcast. “This isn’t the time for training wheels.”

Vrabel had all that glory as a player, but he was still a rookie coach. Urban Meyer had come to Ohio State after winning two National Championships at Florida. He planned to continue the run here, especially since the Buckeyes won their last championship in 2002. Meyer wasn’t going to risk it all with someone like Vrabel. But he relented after Fickell insisted that he interview the linebackers coach. Hilariously enough, neither Meyer nor Vrabel knew how embarrassing the interview would be.

He narrated in the podcast that Vrabel, dressed casually, was asked to explain his expectations and fundamentals to a potential recruit, then his pass-rush strategy. The young coach was completely caught off guard. He said in an earlier episode of the podcast that he never really “coached” the linebackers, because Luke Fickell took care of that. Vrabel just made sure the players arrived at practice on time and attended classes. Naturally, Meyer’s question hit him like a ton of bricks.

“He’s sweating like a mule,” Meyer said of Vrabel. “And he’s, he’s like drawing circles as my daughter would. And I was like, ‘What the hell?’

“I stopped him after about 10 minutes, and he’s glad I stopped him. I said, ‘Mike, all due respect to you, you won three Super Bowls. You’re a legend at Ohio State, but you might need to go coach in the MAC or something and get a little experience and then come back.”

If it hadn’t been for a second chance, Mike Vrabel would probably not be where he is today.

Urban Meyer’s second interview with Mike Vrabel saved his job

This disastrous interview was a wake-up call for Vrabel. Thankfully, Meyer was willing to hear him out the next day. Given how high the stakes were, Vrabel locked in on nailing that interview. According to him and Meyer, he spent the entire night preparing for the interview. The next day, Vrabel even showed up in proper formal attire. Much to his relief, this second interview got him back onto Meyer’s good books.

“He did a much better job,” the former Ohio State head coach said.

Meyer said in his official announcement that he also spoke with Bill Belichick about keeping Mike Vrabel. That talk went well, which convinced the head coach to stick with the new coach. It kick-started his coaching journey, and he met expectations. Vrabel was also promoted to defensive line coach in the 2012 season. With him on board, Urban Meyer was 24-2 at Ohio State.

After all these years, Mike Vrabel will be coaching in the biggest game of his life, after nearly ending his coaching career in front of Meyer. It was a near-miss that almost ended a coaching career before it began, but that second chance in Columbus ultimately forged a path that led Vrabel to the NFL’s biggest stage.