Mike Vrabel’s Chance at NFL History: Who Has Won a Super Bowl As Both Player and Coach?

Mike Vrabel has done what many thought would be impossible this season, leading the Patriots all the way to the top of the AFC with a chance to hoist a Lombardi Trophy next Sunday in Super Bowl LX against the Seahawks.

The 50-year-old knows a thing or two about the NFL’s biggest stage, having won Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII, and XXXIX as a player with New England—while even catching a touchdown, despite being a linebacker, in the latter two victories.

MORE: Full Patriots Super Bowl History: A Look Back at New England’s NFL Record Appearances

Now leading the same franchise that took a gamble on him as a free agent, Vrabel has an opportunity to make significant NFL history next Sunday afternoon at Levi’s Stadium. Here’s how.

How Mike Vrabel can make NFL history with Patriots Super Bowl LX win

Once the football is kicked off on Sunday in Santa Clara, Vrabel will join a list of six others—who we'll get to—that have both played in and head-coached in a Super Bowl.

Several of those figures have managed to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in both roles, but Vrabel would be breaking new ground, becoming the first person in NFL history to accomplish the feat with the same franchise—adding yet another layer to his already unique Patriots legacy.

Who has won Super Bowl as both a player and a coach?

Of the six men who have both played in and coached in a Super Bowl, four have won the big game on both occastions. Here’s a look at each:

Mike Ditka

As player: Super Bowl VI (Cowboys tight end)
As coach: Super Bowl XX (Bears head coach)

NFL legend Mike Ditka was a first round pick of the Bears in the 1961 NFL draft, but was unable to reach the big game with Chicago as a player. He did, however, win Super Bowl VI with the Cowboys to close out the 1971-72 season. 14 years later, he'd go on to lead the Bears to a Super Bowl XX victory over the Patriots.

Tony Dungy

As player: Super Bowl XIII (Steelers DB)
As coach: Super Bowl XLI (Colts head coach)

While known more recently for his time as the head coach of both the Buccaneers and Colts—who he led to a win over the Bears in Super Bowl XLI—Tony Dungy also won the big game as a player. Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Steelers, Dungy intercepted six passes for Pittsburgh and won Super Bowl XIII with the club.

Tom Flores

As player: Super Bowl IV (Chiefs quarterback)
As coach: Super Bowls XV, XVIII (Raiders head coach)

Tom Flores led the Raiders to two Super Bowl titles in both 1980 and ‘84—both of which came in blowout victories over the Eagles and Washington, respectively. What you may not know, however, is that Flores was also Len Dawson's backup quarterback with the Chiefs when Kansas City won Super Bowl IV over the Vikings.

Doug Pederson

As player: Super Bowl XXXI (Packers quarterback)
As coach: Super Bowl LII (Eagles head coach)

After a career as a journeyman NFL quarterback, Doug Pederson—who backed up Brett Favre in the Packers’ Super Bowl XXXI win over the Patriots—earned his first head coaching job with the Eagles in 2016 and, just one year later, led Philadelphia to the first Super Bowl victory in franchise history.

Who has been to a Super Bowl as both a player and a coach but fell short?

Unfortunately, a handful of NFL lifers have been to a Super Bowl as both a player and a coach—but fell short of winning it in both roles. Here’s a look at the three who fit the bill.

Gary Kubiak

As player: Super Bowls XXI, XXII, XXIV (three losses, Broncos quarterback)
As coach: Super Bowl 50 (win, Broncos head coach)

Gary Kubiak made three big game appearances as John Elway’s backup with the Broncos in Super Bowls XXI, XXII, and XXIV, and while the team unfortunately lost all three, he made up for it by leading the same franchise to a Super Bowl 50 victory over the Panthers as head coach.

Dan Reeves

As player: Super Bowl VI (win, Cowboys running back)
As coach: Super Bowls XXI, XXII, XXIV (three losses, Broncos head coach)

Kubiak’s coach in those aforementioned Super Bowl losses was Dan Reeves, who appeared on the league’s biggest stage nine total times throughout his career. He won one as a player—Super Bowl VI, as a running back with the Cowboys—but none as a head coach.

Ron Rivera

As player: Super Bowl XX (win, Bears linebacker)
As coach: Super Bowl 50 (loss, Panthers head coach)

Ron Rivera hoisted the Lombardi Trophy to close out the 1985 season as a linebacker for the daunting 1985 Bears defense. He would eventually move into coaching, and while he led the Panthers to an appearance in Super Bowl 50, he couldn’t get the job done—ironically falling to Kubiak’s Broncos.