Dianna Russini Did Not Name Her Son After Mike Vrabel: Report

We all just need to log off.

The saga surrounding former The Athletic senior NFL insider Dianna Russini and New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has taken a head-spinning number of twists and turns since April 7, when Page Six first published photos showing them at an adults-only resort in Sedona, Arizona.

Russini announced her resignation from The Athletic on April 14. Vrabel remains the Patriots’ head coach, though he missed Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft to attend “counseling” with his family, and has received a chorus of support from his players. Through it all, Page Six and TMZ have continued to publish more photos and reports suggesting Russini and Vrabel have been involved in some sort of relationship for years.

Russini has been married to Kevin Goldschmidt since 2020, and Vrabel has been married to Jen Vrabel since 1999, so you can see how that could be problematic.

After Page Six published these photos showing Russini and Vrabel canoodling and possibly kissing at a New York City bar in March 2020, people took it as an invitation to dig up everything Russini had ever posted or said in the past. Russini deleted all of her social media accounts, but a conspiracy theory emerged that Russini’s oldest son, Michael, was named after Vrabel.

That is obviously ridiculous, but TMZ has officially put it to rest.

An unnamed source confirmed to TMZ that Russini named her son “to honor her older brother, Michael Russini,” and her second son, Joey, is named after her grandfather.

TMZ has also published a new video - or an old video that’s new to the public - showing Russini and Vrabel alone on a boat together in Tennessee in June 2021. Russini was pregnant with her first son at the time.

Russini has not publicly commented since posting her resignation letter on April 14. In her only public comments, she maintained her innocence against any inappropriate behavior. Vrabel held two press conferences in late April and acknowledged “actions that caused a distraction,” but he has not specifically addressed the scandal.

Russini covered the NFL at ESPN for eight years before departing for The Athletic in late 2023.

Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls as a Patriots linebacker, previously coached the Tennessee Titans (2018-23) before taking over in New England last year. The Patriots lost to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX, and Vrabel is the reigning AP Coach of the Year.

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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 5:51 PM.