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Former New England Patriots offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger overslept during his 2009 rookie season and was late for a meeting.
But he didn’t tell the Pats that. Instead, fearing being cut by notoriously strict head coach Bill Belichick, he intentionally got into a car crash to have a better excuse.
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New England Patriots offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger scores during an NFL game against the New York Jets in Foxboro, Massachusetts November 22, 2009. (Damian Strohmeyer/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
“You don’t want to be the guy who wanders into a squad team meeting and gets looked at by Bill Belichick and the rest of the team,” he said.Hartman and Rich O Show.“
“I see a church wagon that is completely dented and black smoke is coming out of the tailpipe. I’m just like, ‘I’m going to hit this car. I’m going to put this car behind me,'” said Ohrnberger, trying to hold back a laugh. “I’m going to slap this car because it’s better to pay the insurance or take a few hundred bucks from this guy than embarrass myself if I’m late for this Patriots team meeting.”
Ohrnberger said the driver of the van was “at least 100 years old,” and then it started raining on them both.
“The worst thing is when you get pneumonia after I hit your car,” he said.
Rich Ohrnberger of the New England Patriots competes during a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts 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 provide the Patriots with “visual evidence” that he had indeed run into a slight wreck. He added he later found out someone checked his car in the parking lot.
However, Belichick’s assistant was still “pissed off” 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 was not cut, only playing in five games with the Pats over a two-year period. He played 13 games for the Arizona Cardinals in 2012 and 24 games for the then-San Diego Chargers in 2013 and 2014 before retiring.