Mike Vrabel Back with Patriots After Counseling Amid Dianna Russini Scandal
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel held two press conferences last week, but he still hasn’t really said anything.
It appears the tip-toeing will continue.
“After missing Day 3 of the NFL draft to be with his family, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel is back at work with the team today,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Monday.
The 2026 NFL Draft ran from last Thursday, April 23, to Saturday, April 25.
In the middle of the night last Wednesday, Vrabel issued a statement through ESPN’s Mike Reiss announcing that he “committed to seeking counseling, starting this weekend,” and therefore would miss Day 3 of the draft.
“Man Arrives to Work Monday After Weekend Spent With Family” is not newsworthy on its face, but in the face of three weeks filled with scandal and upheaval, Schefter’s otherwise benign Vrabel update came across as odd.
Vrabel did not specify what sort of counseling he sought or why, and that privacy is his right. He also did not specify why he chose to wait until Day 3 of the draft instead of seeking the help he said he needed immediately, and we don’t know whether it was a one-off counseling session or an ongoing arrangement that allows Vrabel to be with the Patriots in between.
Again, that’s his business, not ours.
But his business became everyone’s business three weeks ago.
The timing of his announcement suggested it was prompted by Page Six’s bombshell photos published April 7, showing Vrabel with then-The Athletic senior NFL insider Dianna Russini hugging, hanging poolside, and possibly holding hands at an adults-only resort in Sedona, Arizona, in late March.
The timing of Vrabel’s counseling announcement came fully into focus when Page Six dropped new photos last Thursday showing Russini and Vrabel canoodling at Tribeca Tavern on March 11, 2020.
Vrabel has been married to Jen Vrabel since 1999, and Russini has been married to Kevin Goldschmidt since 2020.
Initially, Russini, Vrabel, and The Athletic each provided a statement to Page Six, staunchly downplaying the original batch of photos, with Vrabel even calling any innuendo “laughable.”
Later that week, however, Page Six reported that The Athletic had sidelined Russini while an internal investigation into her version of events and overall reporting was underway.
By April 14, Russini announced her resignation from The Athletic but maintained her innocence against any inappropriate behavior. Russini had previously worked at ESPN for eight years before joining The Athletic in late 2023.
ESPN’s Ben Strauss published a report on the Russini-Vrabel fallout and cited three sources who said that Russini “never provided sufficient evidence” to back up her claim that she’d been on a trip with friends rather than on a getaway with Vrabel.
It would be another week before Vrabel made any public comment beyond his initial written denial.
Last Tuesday, April 21, Vrabel told reporters that he’s had “difficult conversations with people I care about” and intimated that he needs to make “good decisions” moving forward, but the reigning Coach of the Year remained vague and, again, never directly acknowledged the photos.
After Vrabel’s presser on April 21, Page Six published new photos of Russini and Vrabel having breakfast together at the Ambiente resort in Sedona on March 28. And following the joint reveal of his plans for counseling and Page Six’s March 2020 photos, Vrabel held an impromptu presser last Thursday, April 24.
Throughout his three-minute opening statement, Vrabel took “accountability for my actions, the actions that caused a distraction” to his family and the Patriots.
“What I believe is best for the two most important things in my life, my family and this football team, is for us to take the necessary steps to work together and to give them what I told them I’d give them, which is the best version of me,” Vrabel said. “That’s what we’re gonna do, and that has started. That’ll continue this weekend. And it’ll continue for however long it takes for me to complete that promise.”
NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy confirmed to Strauss, in his April 17 report, that the NFL is “not reviewing Vrabel’s behavior as part of the league’s personal conduct policy.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell seconded that while speaking with Mike Greenberg for ESPN’s 2026 NFL Draft broadcast last Thursday night.
“This is not a personal conduct policy, as we know today,” Goodell said. “It’s a personal matter, and we’ll leave it at that. […] think the teams handle these matters when they’re personal matters, and they have a lot more information that can benefit everyone involved.”
Russini deleted her X account and made her Instagram private shortly after the March 2020 photos were unleashed. Post-draft, Vrabel won’t have to address the media for at least another month. So, public interest should die off. Unless, of course, Page Six has even more photos at its disposal.
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This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 3:43 PM.