Much of the attention the New England Patriots received around the NFL Draft was not so much about the players they selected and more about the absence of coach Mike Vrabel, who was away from the team on Day 3 as he sought counseling and prioritized his family amid the off-field scandal with former NFL reporter Dianna Russini.
While Vrabel’s personal life has become the biggest offseason story for a team that just played in the Super Bowl, quarterback Drake Maye said he does not think the situation will be a distraction as the squad gears up for the 2026 season.
“No, I don’t,” Maye said to The Associated Press. “I mean, he’s our head coach. I think he’s done a great job of talking to us and talking us through it. I’m just looking forward to getting back to work and getting ready.”
Even if the players in the locker room have their heads in the right place, the talk outside the team facility continues to center around Vrabel’s actions rather than his exciting roster.
The saga began over a month ago when the New York Post’s Page Six published photos of Vrabel and Russini holding hands and hugging at a hotel in Sedona, Ariz. Multiple more batches of photos surfaced, showing the two had spent time together at times dating to March 2020. And last week, TMZ reported that Vrabel and Russini rented a private boat in June 2021 when the latter was pregnant with her first child.
While Vrabel and Russini both initially denied that they had a romantic relationship, the Patriots coach has since softened that stance. He said ahead of the draft that he takes “accountability for my actions and the actions that caused a distraction to the people that I care most about — my family, this football team, the organization, and our fans.” Russini resigned from her role at The Athletic.
Vrabel pledged to be the best version of himself for his family and the Patriots, and Maye is on board with that.
“I know he’s got the right mindset, and I know he’s a great human being,” Maye said. “Like I said, I love playing for him.”
The NFL will not pursue a personal conduct investigation into Vrabel, and the Patriots publicly backed his decision to seek counseling and take a brief leave to pursue counseling.
Maintaining trust with his players is critical if Vrabel is to produce another stellar season in his second year with the Patriots. Year 1 was a resounding success, as he oversaw a 10-win regular-season turnaround from the campaign prior and guided New England to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2018. The core of last season’s roster (starting with Maye and his stellar running back tandem) remains intact, so there exists an opportunity to string together multiple fruitful seasons at the start of Vrabel’s tenure.
