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New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has been raked over the coals over recent photos released of him and NFL reporter Dianna Russini.
Vrabel said he will step away from the team to seek counseling. But he has plunged the Patriots into a PR disaster that began when he vehemently denied that the first photo dump of him and Russini at an Arizona resort showed anything fishy. He brushed it off as “a completely innocent interaction.”
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New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel stands on the field before the 2026 AFC Championship Game at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Jan. 25, 2026. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
Former San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman weighed in with his reaction in an interview with Pakinomist Digital on Thursday. He said he didn’t think the dark cloud surrounding Vrabel would affect the team football-wise, but his job depended on what message the organization wants to send.
“This is my thing when it comes down to it,” Merriman said. “He didn’t break any laws first of all, right? It’s something moral, maybe wrong. Something he’s going to have to deal with when it comes down to it. I don’t believe, in my opinion, I don’t believe this will be a football distraction. It has to be internally that we don’t want to deal with it because what it sends a message to is not going to affect the player’s space, but how it affects the player’s space. coaching, how they’re coached, how they listen and follow him and how Vrabel leads.
“Football wise I don’t think it matters at all. It just depends a lot on what message you want to send by continuing to move on with him. That’s what I would say.”
Dianna Russini, left, and Mike Vrabel, right, are shown in a split composite photo with Russini holding an ESPN microphone and Vrabel on the Titans sideline wearing a headset. (Images)
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Page Six and TMZ released new rounds of Vrabel-Russini photos earlier Thursday. That sparked a pre-draft press conference from Vrabel.
“My past actions do not meet the standard that I hold myself to,” Vrabel said. “My priorities are my family and this football team in that order. And there’s a balance there that I want to create.”
At the end of the press conference, Vrabel was asked to explain why he initially made a statement calling photos of him and Russini at an Arizona resort “ridiculous” after they were published by the New York Post earlier in April.
“It’s a private and personal matter. I don’t think these comments … it was an attempt to protect your family,” Vrabel said.
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel celebrates after the AFC Championship game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Jan. 25, 2026. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
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That was the last question Vrabel answered before storming off the podium and out of the room.
