In 2019, Cairo Santos was the Titans’ kicker and Mike Vrabel was their head coach. In a Week 5 loss to the Bills, Santos missed four field goals. He was cut the next day.
That kind of outing can end a young kicker’s career, but Santos kept working, signed a year later with the Bears, and has been a reliable kicker in Chicago ever since — including making the game-clinching 58-yarder in a win over Vrabel’s Patriots on Thursday night.
Vrabel wasn’t happy about that, but he sounded genuinely happy for Santos in his postgame comments, saying he was impressed with the way Santos shook off an earlier miss from 53 yards and said he’s not sure if he had seen Santos miss a field goal since that final game as a Titan.
“Make a 58-yard field goal, I think the last field goal Cairo missed was when he kicked for the Titans,” Vrabel said after the game. “I don’t think he’s missed one since then — he missed one earlier in the game, but we always joke about it. I’m really proud of what he’s done. I didn’t want him to make it tonight, but he’s a former guy that we coached.”
Asked if his team got out-executed, Vrabel said it was just a case of Santos making a great kick.
“I don’t know how you get out-executed when a guy makes a 58-yard field goal,” Vrabel said.
It was a classy postgame comment from Vrabel, who gave credit where credit is due, even in the moments after a disappointing loss.