There are coach-player relationships, and then there are connections that go deeper than football. The latter is the category the bond between New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and Philadelphia Eagles star A.J. Brown falls into. There’s a reason we keep mentioning the two together.
We did so during Brown’s ‘revenge game’ vs. the Tennessee Titans in 2022. We’ve done so more recently amid trade rumors about Brown and his affinity for the Patriots. We have also mentioned the possibility of there being a reunion between the coach and the player if Brown were to land there.
Brown was asked about Vrabel recently. He joked that he wasn’t a fan of Vrabel’s while playing for him. That comes with the territory of a great coach pushing a great player, but recently at the NFL Combine, Vrabel was allowed the opportunity to share his longtime affinity for an elite NFL talent, but this had nothing to do with football.
Mike Vrabel talks about how close his relationship still is with AJ Brown
Says he is proud of the man, father and husband that AJ has become. Mentions the two still stay in contact through the good and bad times they each experience
#👀
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) February 25, 2026
That says a lot. Vrabel’s words carried the kind of authenticity you can’t manufacture. He didn’t talk about statistics, accolades, or highlight plays. Instead, he spoke about trust, accountability, and mutual respect.
that formed during their years together with the Tennessee Titans. For Vrabel, Brown wasn’t just a star receiver — he was someone who helped shape the culture of the locker room.
Vrabel struggled without Brown and others after they left the Titans organization, but both have gone on to even greater success, establishing themselves as premier playmakers and great head coaches. Time and distance haven’t changed how these two view one another. If anything, it’s evidence that absence can, indeed, make the heart grow fonder
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Mike Vrabel says he remains in constant contact with A.J. Brown