It appears the smoke is finally starting to clear for New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel amid his uncomfortable offseason drama with Dianna Russini.
Vrabel and the Patriots took the latest step toward normalcy when OTAs opened May 27 in Foxboro, Mass. As part of the session — the first on-field work since Vrabel’s leave of absence in April — the second-year New England head coach gave an update on his own personal situation.
“(The work has been) really good. I appreciate my family; it’s great. I love Jen. I love the boys,” Vrabel told reporters.
Mike Vrabel Gets Back Into Patriots Routine Amid Dianna Russini Saga
It has been an embarrassing offseason for Vrabel. A couple of months after the Patriots lost the Super Bowl to the Seattle Seahawks, bombshell photos surfaced showing the veteran coach with Russini at an Arizona hotel. Despite initially denying anything other than a friendship, media outlets obtained more photos that seemingly suggested Vrabel and the longtime NFL reporter had been carrying on some sort of relationship for years.
Eventually, Vrabel admitted that his “previous actions don’t meet the standard that I hold myself to.” Vrabel then skipped Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft, insisting he seeking counseling of some sort. He flew to Utah — where he and his wife, Jen — own a home, and he returned the Monday after to resume work with the team.
Meanwhile, Russini resigned her post as an NFL national insider for The Athletic as more information came out.
Mike Vrabel Sidesteps Most Questions About Patriots’ Off-Field Drama
Vrabel clearly went into the first press conference with a media relations plan. The head coach wasn’t peppered with questions about his personal life, but when the conversation drifted that direction, he quickly steered things back to his role as the head coach of the football team.
“We all have to deal with things outside of here,” he explained. “My focus and obviously the excitement I have for coaching is what’s most important right now. This is a great opportunity right now, (in) the spring. We don’t have to worry about opponents. Our schedule is pretty much the same. The players have a routine each and every day in the spring, and that’s similar.”
Vrabel has also emphasized keeping his focus on the players all spring, and he reiterated that in his press conference when asked whether players were responding well to his message.
“I don’t want to speak for the players,” he said. “All I can do — I feel great and I feel like I’m trying to give them the information that will help them do their job. I’ve talked about the importance of the balance of their own success, which leads to great things for them and the people they care about, but then also trying to manage that with the team. That’s a fine balance of the dynamic we try to wage in professional sports.”
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