Like millions, dude, laughing at you as the scandal involving your interactions with Dianna Russini, former NFL reporter for The Athletic, seemingly gets more salacious by the hour.
When the initial bombshell dropped with The New York Post publishing photographs of Vrabel and Russini, captured so cozy at a luxury resort in Sedona, Arizona, before the NFL owners meeting in late March, the New England Patriots coach harumphed that any suggestion the pictures reflected more than an innocent interaction were “laughable.”
Then came another wave. And another. The latest photo drop by The Post, hours before the NFL draft began on Thursday, captured the two purportedly canoodling at a bar in New York – in 2020!
Now Vrabel is stepping away, for therapy and time with his family.
At the half-empty “news conference” staged on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium, someone asked Vrabel to explain how this progressed from “laughable” to a need for counseling. He had the nerve to trumpet the family theme in trying to explain away his initial statement.
“That’s a private, personal matter,” Vrabel said. “I don’t think that those comments…I think that was always an attempt to protect your family and I would never be dismissive.”
Yeah, right. “Dismissive” perfectly describes that first statement – which was hardly comical.
More: Vrabel-Russini timeline: Patriots coach steps away from final day of NFL draft
Now Vrabel is selling a different explanation, maintaining, “My previous actions don’t meet the standard that I hold myself to.”
As I watched the NFL’s reigning Coach of the Year stumble along during his 7-minute session, talking about accountability and not wanting to be a distraction, I was not convinced that he wasn’t more sorry about getting caught engaging in “private” situations in “public” settings. Whatever may have happened between Vrabel and Russini – who, like Vrabel, is married to another person – is not public knowledge.
Yet Vrabel missing Day 3 of the NFL draft to spend time with his family is very public knowledge now. I’m guessing the getaway won’t happen in Sedona.
“My family needs me this weekend, and that’s where I’ll be,” said Vrabel, who never mentioned his wife, Jen, by name. They are parents to two sons.
It’s unclear how long Vrabel’s absence will be. But it doesn’t sound like the plan is for him to be away for an extended period. He didn’t deny a report that maintained he will be accessible to the Patriots, including team owner Robert Kraft and Eliot Wolf, who runs the draft as VP-personnel, during the third day of the draft. And the Patriots didn’t name a temporary interim. So, maybe they figure he’ll be back for the rookie minicamp.
Also apparent is that the NFL has no intent to review Vrabel’s actions under terms of the league’s personal conduct policy. Sure, as shady as it may seem, with no criminal allegations involved, it would be quite the precedent for the NFL to go down that path.
Still, while Vrabel remains on his job after a spectacular return to New England that culminated with the franchise getting back to the Super Bowl in his first season, his reputation will never fully recover from this.
Sure, he’s a sharp football mind and motivator of men. His game-management strategy is impeccable. Maybe he ultimately leads the Patriots to their first Super Bowl crown without Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
Yet this probably never goes away. Even if Vrabel goes on to a Hall of Fame coaching career, this episode sticks to his legacy in some form. I mean, Belichick, the future Hall of Famer, is undoubtedly paying the price for another black eye in Patriots history, Spygate. And at this rate, it would not be surprising if more layers to Vrabel’s saga are unveiled.
Mike Vrabel’s career has taken him from standout player to head coach, with stops across multiple eras of the NFL.See the moments that chart Vrabel’s path through the years and onto the sidelines.Above, Mike Vrabel speaks as he is introduced as head coach of the New England Patriots during a press conference at Gillette Stadium on January 13, 2025, in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
1 / 18See Mike Vrabel’s journey from Patriots standout to NFL head coachMike Vrabel’s career has taken him from standout player to head coach, with stops across multiple eras of the NFL.See the moments that chart Vrabel’s path through the years and onto the sidelines.Above, Mike Vrabel speaks as he is introduced as head coach of the New England Patriots during a press conference at Gillette Stadium on January 13, 2025, in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Mike Vrabel’s career has taken him from standout player to head coach, with stops across multiple eras of the NFL.See the moments that chart Vrabel’s path through the years and onto the sidelines.Above, Mike Vrabel speaks as he is introduced as head coach of the New England Patriots during a press conference at Gillette Stadium on January 13, 2025, in Foxborough, Massachusetts.