Mike Vrabel talks about ‘difficult conversations’ he had during Dianna Russini drama
Patriots head coach Mike Vrbael spoke to the media for the first time since photos of him with Dianna Russini were leaked.
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- Vrabel announced that he will be leaving the team to spend time with his family.
- The coach is not expected to face any discipline from the Patriots or the NFL.
Who’s laughing now, Mike Vrabel?
Like millions of people, hey, I’m probably laughing at you as the scandal involving The Athletic’s interactions with former NFL reporter Deanna Russini seems to get more and more despicable by the hour.
What a pathetic story.
When the New York Post first published a photo of Vrabel and Russini looking very cozy at a luxury resort in Sedona, Ariz., before the NFL owners meeting in late March, causing initial shock, the New England Patriots coach proclaimed that it was “ridiculous” to suggest the photo reflected anything more than an innocent interaction.
Then another wave came. And one more thing. The latest photo, dropped by The Post just hours before the NFL Draft began on Thursday, shows the pair drinking at a New York bar in 2020!
Vrabel is currently away from home for treatment and to spend time with his family.
At a half-empty “press conference” Thursday night at Gillette Stadium, someone asked Vrabel to explain how this went from a “funny story” to a need for counseling. He tried to explain his first statement and had the nerve to trumpet the family theme.
“It’s a private, personal matter,” Vrabel said. “I don’t think that comment was correct…I think it was always an attempt to protect your family and I don’t take that lightly.”
Yes, that’s right. “Dismissive” perfectly captures that first statement, but it wasn’t funny at all.
Now, Vrabel has given a different explanation, claiming that “my actions to date have not met the standards that I hold for myself.”
What kind of action? Well, that’s personal and private.
Mike Vrabel’s press conference provides little clarity about absence
As I watched the NFL’s Coach of the Year stumble through a seven-minute session talking about accountability and not wanting to be intrusive, I wasn’t convinced that he wasn’t all that bad about being caught engaging in a “private” situation in a “public” forum. What happened between Vrabel and Russini is not publicly known, although Russini, like Vrabel, is married to another person.
However, it’s now widely known that Vrabel skipped Day 3 of the NFL Draft to spend time with his family. I don’t think the escape will happen in Sedona.
“My family needs me this weekend, and I’m going to be there,” Vrabel said, never mentioning his wife, Jen, by name. They are the parents of two sons.
It’s unclear how long Vrabel will be out. However, it seems that he has no plans to leave the club for a long time. He did not deny reports that he may contact the Patriots on the third day of the draft, including team owner Robert Kraft and Elliott Wolf, who is leading the draft as vice president. And the Patriots did not name a temporary interim player. So maybe they’re thinking he’ll return to rookie minicamp.
Mike Vrabel will not face disciplinary action from NFL Patriots
It is also clear that the NFL has no intention of reviewing Vrabel’s actions based on the league’s personal conduct policy. Sure, it may seem shady, but it would be completely unprecedented for the NFL to go down such a path if no criminal charges were involved.
Still, while Vrabel has continued to work after a spectacular return to New England that culminated in the team’s return to the Super Bowl in his first season, his reputation will never fully recover.
Indeed, he is a keen football mind and a motivational figure for men. His game management strategy is perfect. Perhaps he will eventually lead the Patriots to their first Super Bowl victory without Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
But perhaps this will never go away. Even if Vrabel goes on to have a Hall of Fame coaching career, this episode will still be credited to him in some way. So Belichick, a future Hall of Famer, is definitely paying the price for another black eye in Patriots history: Spygate. And as things stand, it wouldn’t be surprising if more layers of Vrabel’s story were revealed.
Now, there’s a clip that someone posted to X. Russini interviewed Vrabel after he returned to New England and asked him about his wife. In real time, it probably looked very innocent. In retrospect, there is a cruel irony in this.
Vrabel is a coach who has a habit of calling on a veteran female reporter to ask the first question at the beginning of his press conferences. This has long struck me as a pretty cool gesture, as Vrabel described it as a nod to the difficulties women face in male-dominated environments.
And now he’s embroiled in a controversy involving a female reporter who resigned from a high-profile job while The Athletic, a New York Times affiliate, investigated her dealings with Vrabel. That’s also ironic.
As it turns out, Vrabel’s return to Foxboro to replace the one-and-done Jerrod Mayo was an incredible move.
It’s no laughing matter.
Contact Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow X: @JarrettBell
