Since it was Dan Jenkins, everyone wrote it off as just another clever line from a guy who delivered them like Santa tossing candy canes.

It was 25 years ago, in the pages of Golf Digest, when Jenkins became a prophet (twice-over, in fact).

“Only two things can stop Tiger Woods,” he wrote. “Injury or a bad marriage.”

Seven years later, the first serious and sidelining injury arrived, and a year after that came the other half of Jenkins’ double-whammy — self-induced by Tiger, we all learned.

And that brings to mind another Dan Jenkins dandy, from one of his many works of fiction, “Life its Ownself,” where Billy Joe Puckett explains such things in a manner unsuited for polite society.

“Compared to a bad marriage, leukemia is butterscotch pudding.”

Why we shouldn't, and should, care about the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini situation

In a nicer, simpler world, no one would give a damn whether or not Mike Vrabel agrees with that. It’s truly none of our business, and it’s disgusting yet predictable how his relationship with reporter Dianna Russini has played out publicly.

Right about now, we might be due for a however. Yep …

However, a whole lot of Americans consider football to very much be our business. We invest emotion, allegiance and (ahem) sometimes bits of currency on it. And Mike Vrabel is the most important piece of one of football’s most important franchises — recent dynasty and last season’s Super Bowl runner-up, the New England Patriots.

Aside from gossipy speculation — or speculative gossip — regarding the stuff that’s none of our business, how does this compare to the long-ago Tiger Woods situation? Glad you asked.

The biggest part of Tiger Woods’ golfing dominance was his golfing greatness, which alone wouldn’t have been enough if not for his other-worldly ability to produce his best golf under the highest heat. But there was always something else in play — intimidation.

Grandpa can tell you stories about Bob Gibson, who had all the requisite pitches to make him great, but possessed an aura that took him a notch beyond merely great. Whether he was borrowing from Gibby or not, Tiger had that.

Not unlike Ben Hogan way before him, Tiger would barely acknowledge other golfers, even playing partners, during tournament play. He had no equal, carried himself that way, and to get the very best out of himself, probably felt he had to.

Not long after Tiger’s marriage and SUV crashed into that fire hydrant in 2009, his management team thought it’d be smart to trot him out in front of a room of friends, family and industry insiders, where he’d stand behind a podium and do the mea culpa thing.

It was 2012 before he won another tournament and 10 years before he delivered one more major championship, his out-of-nowhere fifth Masters win.

Injuries and surgeries played big roles in the career downturn, but you can’t discount the pounds of flesh taken away by public shame and prostration. Aura was the 15th club in Tiger’s bag, and it had been tossed in a pond.

Can Mike Vrabel's mojo survive?

By the nature of their jobs, NFL head coaches are masters of their domains, mini-gods who make or break careers of other grown men. A certain percentage of them, through success and manner of carriage, stand out as The Man among men — he’s in charge, you know he’s in charge, and he knows that you know he’s in charge.

Don Shula, Bill Parcells, Mike Ditka, Bill Belichick … Mike Vrabel had done nothing but follow their playbooks, maybe intentionally at times but largely through being natural, and his is a tough-guy, results-oriented nature. Linebacker, remember.

The public scrutiny amid the current fallout has to have taken a toll, beyond the obvious to which we’re not privy. This is far from the newly naked emperor parading through town, but bits of armor have been shed.

It’s probably nothing that a few wins out of September’s gate won’t cure, but if it’s never the same, it won’t be the first time.

— Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: The Mike Vrabel persona takes a hit, not unlike Tiger Woods in 2009