Mike Vrabel Once Angrily Called Dianna Russini Over Podcast Comments About His Body
A resurfaced interview with former Athletic reporter Dianna Russini is making waves amid her alleged cheating scandal with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
In March 2024, Russini shared a story on the Pardon My Take podcast of when her comments about Vrabel were taken out of context online-resulting in an angry phone call from the football coach.
"[Vrabel] called me the day after an aggregator took something I said that basically said ‘Mike Vrabel's too fat to work,'" Russini said.
Russini then clarified what she had actually said about Vrabel.
"What I shared on the football podcast on TheAthletic was that I had dinner with a [general manager] at the Senior Bowl and we had conversations about how bizarre this last coaching cycle was and how crazy it was that [Bill] Belichick and Vrabel didn't have gigs," she explained.
According to Russini, the general manager then explained his theory as to why Vrabel wasn't immediately hired by a team after being fired as head coach of the Tennessee Titans in January 2024.
"And I said, ‘Why do you think that Mike didn't get a job?'" she continued. "He said, ‘I think they needed a change there in Tennessee, but in terms of the next opportunity, I think there's a lot of people who are very intimidated by him. He walks into a room and he's confident. He's physically a big human being and it's a bit startling at first.'"
Russini said that her reporting was misconstrued, with some people thinking she was calling Vrabel fat as opposed to physically intimidating.
"The aggregators took that and changed all of this, the way I said that," she said. "That wasn't great to hear from a not-too-happy coach. He didn't call me after the piece we did on why he got fired but the piece we did calling him a little fat, he wasn't too happy."
RELATED: Dianna Russini Tweet From 2021 Resurfaces, Fueling Mike Vrabel Affair Rumors
Last week, photos published in the New York Post showed Russini and Vrabel holding hands and hugging at a luxury hotel in Arizona.
After the pictures went viral, Russini and Vrabel both called the photos "misleading" and vehemently denied rumors of an affair. The journalist has been married to Kevin Goldschmidt since 2020 while the football coach and his wife Jennifer have been married since 1999.
Russini's Athletic editor Steven Ginsberg also came to their defense, telling NBC News that the photos lacked "essential context."
"These were public interactions in front of many people," Ginsberg said. "Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we're proud to have her at The Athletic."
Nevertheless, Russini resigned from the publication on Apr. 14, and Vrabel announced on Thursday, Apr. 23 that he would be seeking counseling in the wake of the scandal.
Later on Apr. 23, Page Six released photos that appeared to show Russini and Vrabel kissing at a bar in New York City in March 2020-seemingly confirming the alleged affair and sparking questions about the timeline of the pair's relationship.
RELATED: Mike Vrabel Speaks Out for the First Time Since Release of Dianna Russini Photos From 2020
Vrabel addressed the photos from six years ago in a press conference before the 2026 NFL Draft on Apr. 23.
"I take accountability for my actions and the actions that caused a distraction to the people that I care most about," Vrabel told reporters. "My family, this football team, the organization and the fans."
"My priorities are my family and this football and in that order," he added. "There's a balance there that I'm going to create. My family needs me this weekend and that's where I'll be."
Vrabel declined to elaborate on what his counseling would entail, calling it a "private and personal matter." He also told reporters that he could not say for certain if he would miss any further football activities going forward.
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This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 10:06 AM.