Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel made a hastily scheduled appearance in front of reporters at the team’s facility on Thursday evening to discuss his decision to step away from the team for the final day of the draft in order to go into counseling.
Vrabel made the announcement of that plan on Wednesday night amid the continued fallout from the publication of multiple sets of photos showing him and former The Athletic reporter Dianna Russini in social settings over the last six years. Vrabel did not address any details of their relationship, but said that his “previous actions don’t meet the standard that I hold myself to.”
“I take accountability for my actions and the actions that caused a distraction to the people that I care most about: my family, football team, the organization and our fans. . . . my family needs me this weekend and that’s where I’ll be,” Vrabel said.
Vrabel said he will continue working “however long it takes” on the “necessary steps” to give his family and the team the “best version” of himself.
Vrabel previously addressed reporters on Tuesday, but did not take any questions on the topic. He took a few questions on Thursday, including one that asked about the change of tone from his initial response calling it “laughable” to draw any inappropriate conclusions about his relationship with Russini. Vrabel referenced an “attempt to protect” his family while referring to it as a “private and personal matter.”
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has been at the top of the headlines in the hours leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft and he’s sure to remain there as things get underway in Pittsburgh on Thursday night.
The Patriots announced that Vrabel will address the media from the team’s facility around 7:20 p.m. ET. The draft’s official start time is 8 p.m. ET.
Vrabel announced on Wednesday night that he will not be with the team for the third and final day of the draft for counseling. The announcement came a couple of weeks after Page Six published pictures of Vrabel and reporter Dianna Russini — who has since resigned from The Athletic — spending time together at a resort in Arizona. Both of them released statements denying any inappropriate behavior, but Vrabel’s Wednesday announcement and a Tuesday statement about “difficult conversations with people that I care about” moved things in a different direction.
Thursday has already seen the publication of more photos of Vrabel and Russini together in different locations over a long period of time as well as a statement from the Patriots showing support for Vrabel’s “commitment to being the best version of himself for his family, this team and our fans.”
Vrabel’s pre-draft appearance will add more to a story that has moved front and center ahead one of the NFL’s biggest nights of the year.
Sixteen days after the story first surfaced, it has become a full-blown media feeding frenzy.
After reportedly passing on the initial photos of Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and reporter Dianna Russini, TMZ is in on the action.
It has posted a photo of Vrabel and Russini at a Mississippi casino in January 2024, in the weeks after his firing by the Titans.
The photo itself is objectively innocuous. But TMZ adds some reporting to the image.
“A witness tells us they snapped the pic when they recognized Vrabel ... and assumed at the time that the woman by his side was his wife based on their body language,” TMZ reports. “They didn’t realize until the recent bombshell news that the lady was actually Russini.”
TMZ adds that the source “didn’t see any PDA,” but explains that “the two were quite comfortable together, drinking and chatting with other gamblers ... and when Vrabel left the roulette table to play some blackjack, Russini followed ... but sat across from him.”
The broader point is that, currently, anyone and everyone with old photos of Vrabel and Russini will be potentially tracking them down and making them available to outlets like TMZ and the New York Post. Which could lead to more and more photos being published, for as long as the story continues to have legs.
Who knows how long that will be? Already, 16 days in the current climate feels like an eternity.
The first day of the 2026 draft has been overtaken by a story that has slowly gained steam for 16 days. With Thursday’s publication of photos showing Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and reporter Dianna Russini together in March 2020 seeming to be, in many respects, a tipping point in the controversy, the Patriots have issued a statement of support for Vrabel.
“The New England Patriots fully support Mike Vrabel’s decision to prioritize his family first, as well as his own well-being,” the team said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “Mike has been open with us about his commitment to being the best version of himself for his family, this team and our fans, and we respect the steps he is taking to follow through on that commitment.
“We are confident in the leadership and communication Mike has established with our personnel staff throughout this pre-draft process. While he will not be present at the facility on Saturday, we know the draft evaluations are complete and Eliot Wolf and his personnel staff are prepared to execute our draft as planned this weekend.”
The gesture should quiet speculation that the momentum of the overall story could be building toward something far more significant than Vrabel missing rounds four through seven of the draft. Unless and until more evidence emerges.
At this point, it’s impossible to assume it won’t. The past two weeks point to the possibility if not likelihood that it will.
A day ago, it would have been foolish to even suggest it. Now, it’s a fair question to raise and resolve.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel is expected to be in the team’s draft room tonight for the first round.
Vrabel announced early Thursday that he won’t be with the team for the third day of the draft, which consists of rounds four through seven. Instead, he’ll be attending counseling.
The statement came hours after the New York Post sought comment from Vrabel about the latest set of photos featuring Vrabel and former ESPN/Athletic reporter Dianna Russini from March 2020.
The team announced on Wednesday that Vrabel or V.P. of player personnel Eliot Wolf will be available to reporters after the Patriots make their pick in round one.
Via Mark Daniels of MassLive, Vrabel is expected to speak tonight if the Patriots make their pick. If they trade out, Wolf will speak to reporters on Friday.
