Jack BaerStaff writerThu, April 23, 2026 at 11:52 PM UTC·3 min readThe fallout from the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini scandal reached the NFL Draft on Thursday, with both parties taking action before the first pick was announced.
The New England Patriots head coach, after multiple statements released to the press, personally addressed reporters after Page Six published photos of him and the former Athletic NFL reporter, both of whom are married to other people with children, hugging and holding hands at an adults-only Arizona resort. Photos of the two at multiple other locales have since emerged.
Vrabel plans to step away from the Patriots on Day 3 of the draft on Saturday to undergo counseling, and said he takes responsibility for his actions in his opening statement:
“I take accountability for my actions and the actions that caused a distraction to the people I care most about, my family, this football team, the organization and our fans. My previous actions don’t meet the standard I hold myself to. They don’t.
“I believe it’s 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. That has started. That’ll continue this weekend and it’ll continue for however long it takes, to complete that promise.”
Meanwhile, Russini, who has since resigned from The Athletic, spent part of the day limiting her exposure to social media. As of Thursday evening, her X and Bluesky accounts are down, while her Instagram has been turned to private. Her Threads account is still up.
Shortly before Vrabel spoke to the media, he made a brief appearance at a Patriots event without addressing the Russini scandal. However, Patriots owner Robert Kraft did make the notable choice of introducing the coach as “a man who has our family’s full support.”
The NFL has already signaled that it will not be reviewing Vrabel’s conduct for any breach of its personal conduct policy, which NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated on Thursday during an appearance on ESPN.
That would leave any potential discipline for Vrabel up to the Patriots. Judging from Kraft’s comment, he doesn’t have much to worry about.
When asked if his leave of absence will extend to other Patriots activities after the draft, Vrabel said he couldn’t answer the question:
“I can’t answer that. I can only say that whatever my family needs, that’s what I’m going to provide. But I also understand what’s needed from me here. This is an exciting time.”
He also thanked Kraft and other members of the Patriots organization for their support for a decision he insisted was his own:
“When you prioritize you family first and your job, that’s what’s required. That’s what was necessary. Got a lot of support from everybody involved. That’s I was able to do, willingly and I want to do that and that’s important to me.”
All of those comments are an about-face from how Russini and Vrabel initially responded to the photos. Vrabel notably called the idea of impropriety “laughable” and insisted the matter was “complete innocent.”
Both sides told Page Six they were there as part of separate trips with friends, none of whom were visible in the photos. Russini’s resignation from The Athletic reportedly came after the outlet requested evidence of such a friends trip.
When asked why his response changed, Vrabel painted it as a matter of protecting his family:
“That’s a private and personal matter. I don't think that those comments — I think that was an attempt to protect your family, I would never be dismissive.”
The Patriots currently have eight picks scheduled for Day 3 of the draft. Vrabel expressed confidence the team will be able to operate without him.