The relationship involving New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and longtime NFL reporter Dianna Russini was the biggest story hovering over the Patriots throughout the spring.
Russini ultimately resigned from her role covering the NFL for The Athletic in April. The Athletic nevertheless completed a standards review of her work for the outlet. On Thursday morning, The Athletic editorial director for standards and quality Mike Semel and media insider Andrew Marchand revealed the findings of that review.
Dianna Russini “noncompliant” with standards
According to Semel, Russini was “noncompliant” as it pertains to “The Athletic’s standards” in not sharing that she had “a close relationship with Vrabel.”
“We neither completed an investigation nor reached any conclusion about the nature of the full relationship between Vrabel and Russini, but the totality of the public photographs are enough to conclude a violation of company policy,” Semel explained.
Semel was referring to how pictures surfaced showing Vrabel and Russini, who are currently married to other people, spending time together at an Arizona resort in late March of this year. Later, pictures showed the two sharing a kiss and “sitting very close to each other” at a New York City bar in March 2020, renting a boat together in June 2021 when she was pregnant with her first child and at the Beau Rivage Casino in Mississippi in January 2024.
While Russini denied any wrongdoing on multiple occasions, Vrabel spent the final day of the 2026 NFL Draft away from the Patriots so that he could participate in counseling. In July, Patriots owner Robert Kraft said that the Patriots are “privileged to have Mike as our head coach” and that “no one is infallible.”
“Russini’s relationship with Vrabel was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards,” Semel wrote. “Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed.”
Did Mike Vrabel in any way violate NFL rules regarding his relationship with Dianna Russini?
In April, whispers surfaced suggesting that the NFL could potentially punish Vrabel if he violated any league rules regarding his relationship with Russini. During this year’s draft, league commissioner Roger Goodell said the matter did not fall under the personal conduct policy.
“Russini should have disclosed to The Athletic the nature of her relationship with Vrabel to allow editors to assess the kinds of stories on which she should have been working, if any,” Semel said. “She did not.”
Semel added:
“Most of what Russini wrote about Vrabel or the Patriots was transactional and newsy. In addition, I’ve not found a clear link to conclude that Russini used her platform to help promote Vrabel or help his teams during her time at The Athletic.”
Patriots fans likely will care most about the last line, as it would indicate the NFL won’t look into the matter further. That said, Thursday’s revelations will likely result in Vrabel having to answer some awkward questions as his team prepares for its Super Bowl rematch at the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 9.