Jen Vrabel/Twitter
Mike Vrabel is the head coach of the Tennessee Titans. He retired from playing in the NFL in 2010 after two seasons with Kansas City, eight seasons with New England, and four seasons with Pittsburgh.
In 2011, Vrabel served as the linebackers coach at Ohio State. In 2014, he joined the coaching staff of the Houston Texans, and in 2018, he inked a deal with the Titans to become their head coach, rejoining forces with Jon Robinson, whom he knew from his years with the Patriots (Robinson served as Director of College Scouting for the Pats).
Through it all, Vrabel has had the undying love and support of his wife, Jen Boleyn. The couple met at Ohio State University and the two have been married for nearly 20 years. They have two sons together, one of whom plays football at Boston College.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. She Lives in Forest Hills With Her Husband
Jen Vrabel is no stranger to moving around the country. Although her husband only played for three teams over the course of his playing career, Jen has been pretty easy going when it comes to the WAG life.
The Vrabels tied the knot in 1999. Two years later, Vrabel signed with New England and moved his family to Massachusetts. After living near Gillette Stadium for eight years, the Vrabels moved around a bit, finally landing in Houston, Texas, which was a bit of a welcomed change, in terms of climate. Cold, snowy winters can certainly take their toll.
The Vrabels weren’t done moving around, however, and found themselves looking for a home in Nashville earlier this year. According to the Tennessean, the duo found the perfect home in the Forrest Hills area. The 6,100 square foot, custom-built home boasts six bedrooms and eight bathrooms.
“The home is on [a] two-acre lot and has a finished basement, according to its listing. It has designer touches: quartz kitchen counters with a waterfall edge on the island, vaulted ceilings, and a built-in audio system,” the Tennessean reported.
2. She Has 2 Sons With Vrabel & Both Play Sports
Jen and Mike Vrabel are the proud parents of two sons, Tyler and Carter. Both Mike and Jen are die-hard sports fans and have instilled the love of the game into their boys.
The couple’s elder son, Tyler, has followed in his dad’s footsteps and has been playing football at Boston College after committing to the school last year.
“First, I would like to thank my parents for supporting me throughout my life. I also want to thank my coaches for developing me into the person I am on and off the field. Lastly, I want to thank all of the coaches and programs that gave me an opportunity to play for their school. I have decided that I am going to commit to Boston College to continue my academic and athletic career,” Tyler tweeted in June 2017.
Carter Vrabel is also very athletic, but his sport of choice is baseball. He will soon be heading off to college, likely on a baseball scholarship.
3. She Has Been Very Supportive of Her Husband’s Career Over the Years & Learned to Tell When He Had a Concussion
Jen Vrabel has been completely dedicated to and supportive of her husband’s career over the years.
“I find myself only watching him, to see where he is, what he’s doing, where he’s going,” she told the Post Gazette in 2002.
Not only did he stay on top of her husband’s game but, in the event he got injured, she stayed on top of that, too.
“I always knew when he had a concussion because he would be really nice. Nice to the point of weird,” she told the Tennessean in January.
While one might think that Vrabel’s concussion days were over once he stopped playing football, he actually got a concussion in 2012 after he head-butted Ohio State offensive lineman Corey Linsley in warmups. Sure enough, he banged himself up pretty good and even needed stitches.
Mrs. Vrabel had a bit of fun with the aftermath, posting a photo of Vrabel’s stitched forehead with the caption, “Best not to head-butt a guy w/ a helmet on when you aren’t wearing one!! #einstein.”
4. She Played Volleyball at Ohio State & Used to Work as a Dental Hygienist
Jen Vrabel attended Ohio State University on a volleyball scholarship. She met her now-husband in a class, but couldn’t always get out to see him play football because she was busy with her own athletic commitments.
“It was hard because volleyball and football are in the same season. I got to go to one [football] game a year. So I didn’t really know how good he was. I knew he was good, but I had no idea whether he was good enough to play in the NFL,” Jen told the Post Gazette back in 2002.
Mike graduated before Jen and was drafted by the Steelers in 1997. At the time, Jen would drive to Pittsburgh for home games. The following year, the two got engaged and decided to call Columbus, Ohio, home. She worked as a dental hygienist before moving to Massachusetts and giving birth to Tyler (2000) and Carter shortly after.
Though new to the area, Jen seemed to find her footing pretty quick, making friends and whatnot.
“When I got to New England, everybody there had little kids. The Bruschis, the Bledsoes, the Andruzzis … Mike had good friends in Pittsburgh. It’s Mike’s first year there [in New England], but I think he really, really likes it there,” she told the Post Gazette.
5. She Once Threw Major Shade on Twitter
Aside from knowing her husband inside and out, she’s also been known to own her opinions on various matters, once even getting herself in a bit of trouble. Back in 2013, Jen Vrabel used social media to respond to a tweet against the Badgers.
It happened just after former Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema’s wife posted a tweet blaming the Badgers’ loss on “karma.” Jen posted the following tweet, seemingly in direct response to Bielema’s tweet.
“Man, Jen-on-Jen violence is just the most tragic, isn’t it? At any rate, high-quality zinger there. It was passive-aggressive and referential and concise and utterly ruthless. Nice,” SB Nation reported at the time.