The Roommates
Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times
Luke Fickell, left, a Buckeyes defensive coordinator, and the defensive line coach Mike Vrabel were roommates when they played for Ohio State.
By GREG BISHOP
Published: October 24, 2013
Luke Fickell wanted to be a wrestler. He idolized Dan Gable, the godfather of grappling. His family’s vacations revolved around wrestling tournaments. He won three high school state championships in Ohio and went undefeated. Yet Fickell ended up on the football team at
Ohio State, where he made 50 straight starts at nose guard.
Mike Vrabel was his roommate. Fickell cleaned; Vrabel cooked. They fought, daily, mostly with each other but sometimes side by side.
Vrabel wanted to coach in Columbus, where he met his wife, a volleyball player at
Ohio State; where he made his home during N.F.L. off-seasons while employed by Pittsburgh, New England and Kansas City; where his first dorm room practically nuzzled Ohio Stadium.
Fickell studied pre-medicine, an optometrist in training, and still ended up a football coach. He apprenticed at his alma mater while Vrabel collected N.F.L. tackles, and in 2011, after Fickell took over the program, he hired Vrabel as an assistant.
The result: a 6-7 season.
cont...