Mike Vrabel faced the media Tuesday ahead of the NFL Draft, addressing the Dianna Russini photo controversy for the first time.
They were photos that certainly stopped the NFL world in their tracks. On Tuesday, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel spoke for the first time since being captured in photos hugging and holding hands with former Athletic reporter Dianna Russini. He broke his silence at a press conference ahead of Thursday’s NFL draft, wanting to get the distractions out of the way ahead of that, as well as shield his players from questions without him first addressing the situation. Vrabel referred to it as a “personal and private matter,” and declined to address his stance in his initial response of an outward denial of anything going on.
He didn’t mention Russini by name or address the photos in his two-minute opening statement but spoke about having "positive and productive" conversations with his players when they reported for voluntary workouts, as well as some difficult ones with his family, the organization, coaches and players. It’s not surprising that the coach is not willing to opine much on the situation, given that anything he says wouldn’t be likely to quell distractions or make the whole thing go away. But it’s become a bit messy after ESPN reported that the two coordinator responses after the Post published the photos, and Russini later resigning from her position while the Athletic conducts an internal investigation. The NFL has confirmed it will not review Vrabel’s conduct under their personal conduct policy.
Here is the full story from Pats Roundtable writer Ashish Mathur on the head coach breaking his silence.
For Vrabel, it’s a little easier to have this all go away, and that’s by winning. He doesn’t have as many ethical questions brought up regarding Russini’s AP vote, or some of her reporting angles, should there be anything inappropriate that went on between the two that has yet to be verified or confirmed. The Pats head coach has three Super Bowl rings as a player, and the reigning Coach of the Year brought New England to a Super Bowl in his first season as head coach and a 14-3 finish.