Mike Vrabel has caused two NFL rule changes as a player and coach

NASHVILLE - Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel recently appeared on the podcast Pardon My Take to talk everything from his playing days in New England to his new job with the Cleveland Browns .

During the interview, Vrabel began retelling the iconic story about the 2019 AFC Wild Card Game between the Titans and the Patriots. Vrabel famously got the best of his former coach Bill Belichick and former teammate Tom Brady in a 20-13 Titans win, but this game is probably most remembered for the new NFL rule change Vrabel caused.

Vrabel exploited an NFL rule to kill extra time on the clock and shorten the game against New England with the Titans nursing a 14-13 lead in the 4th quarter. By taking an intentional false start after an intentional delay of game, the clock continued to run and the Titans were able to burn pivotal seconds off the game.

The next year, the NFL changed the rule so that any offensive penalty would stop the clock. A rule change made on the heels of Vrabel's brilliant display of coaching antics.

And believe it or not, that's not the first time the NFL has changed a rule because of something Mike Vrabel did. Back in his playing days with the Patriots, Vrabel found a way to exploit the rules on field goal attempts.

"I had one as a player too. It was the old fake timeout, because the rule is you can't call two consecutive timeouts. I pump faked a timeout," Vrabel told Pardon My Take. "We would do this on the field goal block. We used to ice the kicker and call the old timeout, and then I would stand up and be like 'timeout timeout timeout!' knowing that the official wouldn't give it to me. Then the tight end who had his hand down would think it was a timeout and pick his hand up. I'd go 'that's a false start!' and they move them back five yards."

The NFL later changed the rule to prevent this from happening. Calling back-to-back timeouts results in a delay of game penalty.

It pays to know the rulebook. You never know when you'll be able to find a loophole that can help you win a game. It's the attention to detail that Vrabel showed as a player that made him such a good head coach. It's one of many reasons why I believe he will land a new head coaching gig in due time and find success in future endeavors.

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