Who Is Mike Vrabel’s Wife? Meet College Sweetheart Jen Vrabel

Mike Vrabel and Jen Vrabel's story started with a college class, a phone number and Jen deciding she wasn't going to wait around.

They were freshmen at Ohio State when Jen, then a Buckeyes volleyball player, noticed the future NFL linebacker in a time management class. She reportedly went to their professor for his phone number.

More than three decades later, she's still beside him.

The two college athletes married in 1999, raised two sons and built a life that has moved with Vrabel through nearly every chapter of his football career, from the NFL to coaching and, eventually, right back to Foxborough.

When Vrabel was introduced as New England Patriots head coach in January 2025, Jen was there as Robert Kraft welcomed both of them back to an organization that had already played such an important role in their lives.

“She's been along for this ride since college,” Vrabel later said of his wife.

Here's what to know about Jen Vrabel, the former Ohio State athlete who has been alongside the Patriots coach since long before his NFL career began.

Mike and Jen Vrabel Met as Ohio State Athletes

Jen had an athletic career of her own well before Sundays revolved around her husband's.

Then known as Jen Boleyn, she played volleyball at Ohio State from 1993 through 1996 and became an accomplished player for the Buckeyes. She was a two-time AVCA All-District selection and two-time All-Big Ten selection, while also earning Academic All-Big Ten honors.

Vrabel was building an impressive résumé of his own with the Buckeyes football team.

Their paths crossed as freshmen in a time management class, where Jen apparently wasn't shy about making the first move. After noticing Vrabel, she reportedly asked their professor for his phone number.

It worked.

The two began dating, and Jen remained at Ohio State after finishing her volleyball career, earning her bachelor's degree in dental hygiene in 1998.

By then, Vrabel had entered the NFL. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected him in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft, beginning a professional football journey that would eventually bring the couple to New England.

They married in 1999.

Jen Vrabel Has Been Part of Mike’s Patriots Story From the Beginning

For Patriots fans, Jen's return to Foxborough wasn't an introduction. It was a homecoming.

Vrabel signed with New England in 2001 and spent eight seasons with the Patriots, winning three Super Bowls during the first dynasty under Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

Jen was there for that chapter, just as she would be for all the stops that followed.

After Vrabel finished his playing career, coaching took the family from Ohio State to the Houston Texans and eventually to Tennessee, where he spent six seasons as Titans head coach. He later worked with the Cleveland Browns before New England hired him as its head coach in January 2025.

At Vrabel's introductory Patriots press conference, Kraft invited Jen onto the stage and presented her with flowers.

Vrabel made a point of acknowledging her, too. “Jen's been along for this ride for quite a while,” he said.

He has also made clear that football isn't something his wife merely tolerates because of his career.

“She loves football as much, if not more, than I do,” Vrabel said in 2025.

For a couple that met when they were both college athletes, that feels particularly fitting.

Mike and Jen Vrabel Have Two Sons

Sports became a family affair for the Vrabels.

Mike and Jen have two sons, Tyler and Carter, and both became college athletes themselves.

Tyler followed the football path, playing offensive line at Boston College before signing with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He later returned to Boston College to begin his coaching career.

Carter chose baseball, playing collegiately at Wabash Valley College before continuing his career at Tennessee Tech.

Through it all, Vrabel has been open about the importance of making room for family in a profession that can easily consume nearly every available hour.

That philosophy has extended to his coaching staffs, too. During his time in Tennessee, Vrabel encouraged coaches to be present for their children's games, recitals and other milestones whenever the football calendar allowed it.

It's a perspective that makes more sense when considering how much of his own life has unfolded alongside Jen.

She knew Vrabel before the NFL. Before the Super Bowl rings. Before he became an NFL head coach.

She was there when football first brought them to New England, and more than two decades later, she was there when it brought them back.

This time, Vrabel returned to Foxborough as the Patriots' head coach. Jen returned with him.

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