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Former New England Patriots offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger fell asleep during his rookie season in 2009 and was late for a meeting.
But that’s not what he told the Pats. Instead, out of fear of being fired by notoriously strict head coach Bill Belichick, he got into a car accident on purpose, in order to have a better excuse.
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New England Patriots offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger punts during an NFL game against the New York Jets in Foxboro, Massachusetts on November 22, 2009. (Damian Strohmeyer /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
“You don’t want to be the guy who walks into a team meeting and has Bill Belichick and the rest of the team looking at you,” he said on the “Hartman and Rich O Show.”
“I see a church van in front of me that’s all wrecked and has black smoke coming out of the tailpipe. I’m like, ‘I’m going to hit that car.’ I’m going to the back of this one. car,” Ohrnberger said, trying to hold back a laugh. “I’m going to hit that car, because it’s better to pay the insurance or, like, get a couple hundred bucks out of this guy than be embarrassed by being late to this Patriots team meeting.”
Ohrnberger said the driver of the van was “like, minutes away from being 100 years old,” and then it started raining on both of them.
“The worst thing is if you got pneumonia after I put him in the back of the car,” he said.
Rich Ohrnberger of the New England Patriots runs during a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on August 11, 2011. (Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
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While Ohrnberger didn’t hit the van hard, he said it was enough to give the Patriots “visual evidence” that it had indeed gone down in a slight wreck. He added that he later discovered that someone checked his car in the parking lot.
However, Belichick’s assistant was still “angry” that he was late.
“And I might go to hell,” he joked.
Rich Ohrnberger of the New England Patriots poses for his 2010 NFL headshot. (NFL via Getty Images)
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Ohrnberger wasn’t cut, instead playing just five games for the Pats over a two-year span. He played 13 games with the Arizona Cardinals in 2012, then 24 games with the then-San Diego Chargers in 2013 and 2014 before retiring.