Dan Orlovsky sure seems to know something about Mike Vrabel’s coaching future.
And when piecing together the context clues, it’s not a leap to think he was likely referencing Ohio State.
On Tuesday, the ESPN analyst joined The Pat McAfee Show, where he discussed potential NFL head coaching vacancies. And after McAfee brought up Mike Vrabel as a highly touted candidate, Orlovsky hinted at having inside knowledge regarding the former New England Patriots linebacker’s plans.
“I think Vrabel’s spoken for,” Orlovsky said knowingly.
As McAfee and his cast of producers/co-hosts pushed Orlovsky for more information, the former NFL quarterback did his best to remain tightlipped.
“I just think that Vrabel’s probably got a very clear site and path with where he is going to be likely coaching,” he said.
The McAfee crew continued to push Orlovsky for information, asking him “College or pro?” and even referencing Vrabel’s alma mater, Ohio State.
“He’ll be coaching football,” is all Orlovsky would relent.
But it was what he didn’t say that spoke volumes, resulting in McAfee leading an “O-H-I-O” chant before asking the analyst point blank if he was referencing a potential Columbus homecoming for Vrabel.
“I think that there’s a vision for where kind of likely ends up coaching next year,” he repeated. “I’m not a reporter. Listen, I’ve come on your show before and I said, ‘I’ve heard something‘ and it got me in a lot of trouble so I’m trying not to do that.”
“Yeah, just don’t delete any tweets,” McAfee fired back.
While Orlovsky made it clear he’s not a reporter and did his best to avoid aggregation, he also has a lousy poker face. And it unsurprisingly didn’t take long for McAfee’s clip of the exchange to go viral among Ohio State fans, with many taking it as an indication that Vrabel will ultimately replace Ryan Day.
Plus, if Orlovsky wasn’t referencing Ohio State, he could just said so when asked directly by McAfee without giving up whichever team he was referencing. That’s not to say that his response confirmed he was referring to the Buckeyes, but his non-denial certainly allowed viewers — and McAfee — to draw their own conclusions.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.