FOXBOROUGH – Jack Gibbens was an undrafted free agent trying to prove himself. It took that first rookie minicamp for him to make an impression on Mike Vrabel.
In 2022, coming out of the University of Minnesota, Gibbens caught the attention of the then-Tennessee Titans head coach. Vrabel likes to question and quiz his players in meetings. He’ll often bring up what he said in an earlier meeting to his players to see who’s paying attention and retaining information.
During that first rookie minicamp, Gibbens aced the test over and over again. That’s when Vrabel started to call him, ‘Dr. Gibby.’ The joke went over the young linebacker’s head and he told the coach he wasn’t a pre-med student in college.
Now with the Patriots, Gibbens has reunited with Vrabel – and the nickname still stands.
“That was my rookie year. He just started calling me Dr. Gibby, like in rookie minicamp itself,” Gibbens said Thursday. “He likes to ask a lot of questions and quiz people, and I answered a few right. He started calling me ‘doctor.’ I had to let him know that I didn’t study medicine at school. He let me know it was a joke.”
That first year, Gibbens was cut at the end of training camp and eventually signed to the Titans practice squad. The linebacker was eventually signed to Tennessee’s 53-man roster and played in five games, making two starts, as a rookie.
The next year, in 2023, Gibbens was a starting linebacker for Vrabel. He had the best season of his career, making 95 tackles to go with a sack and three pass breakups. Last year, Gibbens played in 10 games, finishing with 44 tackles, before an ankle injury ended his season.
When he became available in free agency, the Patriots were a natural destination due to his relationship with Vrabel.
“I definitely just really appreciate the type of program that he builds, where it’s built on effort and knowing what to do, playing really hard, being accountable to your teammates,” Gibbens said. “He holds everyone to the same standard, and I think he gives opportunities. He always says that they’re going to treat you how you treat the team. And I really appreciated that with my time in Tennessee, and that’s a big reason why I wanted to come out here. I just love the accountability and you get what you work for here.”
Back in 2022, Vrabel explained he started calling Gibbens ‘Dr. Gibby’ because of how smart he is and how quickly he picked up the Titans defensive scheme. Now in New England, Gibbens said Vrabel is back to using the nickname.
“Just him, really,” Gibbens said. “Not many other people have caught on to it, but he still calls me Doc every now and then.”