By Ray Cardello for May 12, 2026, Season 35 / Post 22

Mike Vrabel is the coach of the New England Patriots, and after leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl in his first season, after returning to the team as head coach, his stature was elevated to more than human. Vrabel had a tremendous career with the Pats and was integral to many of the Super Bowl wins. He was a defensive player, but was often used on the offense in goal-line situations and had five receptions in his career, all for touchdowns. He won Coach of the Year, and his future with the Patriots looked promising and welcome to the fans of New England, who had become expectant of not only a winning team, but a championship team. Then came the off-season and a crack in the Vrabel veneer.

In this time of the internet, security cameras, and reporters needing to fill a 24/7 news cycle, there is no such thing as privacy, and you are better served to remember that everything you do or say is of interest to someone. In Vrabel’s case, pictures started circulating in April of him with reporter Dianna Russini. This should have been a matter and situation to be dealt with by the parties involved and their respective families, but that is not how things work today, and the story hit the front page and has not died down much in the month since.

Russini immediately resigned her position at The Athletic, where she was an NFL Insider reporter, and the calls were loud for Vrabel to also lose his job with the Patriots. It appeared that many people would only be satisfied by a walk together by these two around Gillette Stadium with big, bold scarlet “A’s” emblazoned on their backs, Game of Thrones style. To avoid turning it into a spectacle, Vrabel and the team chose not to have him attend the NFL Draft in person, but he was present and very active at the Patriots Rookie Camp last week. This was a welcome sight for most Patriot fans who could not care less about the off-field exploits of their favorite players or coaches. The fact that the Krafts, owners of the Patriots, have shown support for Vrabel indicates he will survive this very personal matter and be on the sidelines in his familiar fleece vest come the Fall.

This incident has been the topic of every talk show and even garnered a spot on Saturday Night Live. Part of this is the Americans’ yearning for gossip, but also America’s jealousy and hatred of the New England franchise. These people welcomed any opportunity to take shots at the team and would like nothing more than to see Vrabel have to step down, especially after the results of his first year as head coach.

One of the only voices of reason was NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who addressed the scandal involving New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and reporter Dianna Russini ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, labeling it a “[personal matter]” rather than a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy. Goodell indicated that the NFL would not investigate, leaving it to the Patriots to handle internally. This statement was welcome news as Goodell has taken every possible opportunity over the last twenty years to personally confront the Krafts, Tom Brady, and the team.

I hope, as with all news stories, that this one regarding Coach Vrabel and his future with the Patriots suffers a quick death. It never deserved to be front-page news, and never should have resulted in the loss of a job for anyone involved. Let’s get past it and onto a conversation about another Lombardi Trophy finding its way to Foxborough, or Portsmouth, NH, but that is another story for later. And, in the meantime, let’s acknowledge that Mike Vrabel is a human being who makes mistakes. He should be allowed to atone for them without his face appearing above the fold.