Patriots at Seahawks: Mike Vrabel, Dianna Russini & That 'Dirty Word'

For the most part, the national media has treated last year's Super Bowl finalists, the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, as if the only differences in their respective offseasons have been about building toward a championship return.

And as the two clubs prepare for Wednesday night's NFL Week 1 opener, they have indeed muscled up and deserve to be considered powerhouses in 2026.

But there are differences ... and one of them - again, when it comes to the national media - has largely gone ignored.

When discussing the Patriots, ESPN, to pick on one outlet, rarely bothered to mention the scandal that knotted New England coach Mike Vrabel with reporter Dianna Russini.

And the media is wrong to have ignored it.

But now comes an offering from ESPN in the form of an article about Vrabel’s unusual offseason.

Now, much of the story centers on the Patriots organization's desire to move on from all of the negatives - including the loss in The Big Game.

“We just tried to move on as fast as we can from that,” running back Rhamondre Stevenson said regarding the scandal that seems to indicate that Vrabel and Russini were involved in a relationship that went beyond the professional level.

There is an argument, though, that the Patriots are not dealing with the issue - and that the NFL isn't forcing them to do so.

Russini was shoved out of her job with The Athletic.

And Vrabel? The ESPN report doesn't include a fresh interview with him ... because New England declined to make him available to the outlet.

So Stevenson and safety Kevin Byard were made available and had to carry their coach's load.

Said Byard: “We all fall short sometimes; that’s what makes us human. I’m not going to question a guy’s choices . . . as long as they don’t affect things on the field, and I haven’t seen that.”

Maybe so. But of course ... the Patriots haven't really been "on the field'' yet.

Vrabel initially called the allegations that he was romantically involved with Russini "laughable.'' But that angle eroded soon enough, with the coach eventually stepping away from the team during the NFL Draft to attend counseling with his family.

Of note: He stepped away during Day 3, but not during the earlier times when the Pats were making more important decisions with more valuable picks.

The ESPN story is teased on social media with this line: We "explored how the Patriots and Mike Vrabel survived a wild off-season that tested one of the NFL's dirtiest words: 'distraction.''

But the truth?

Until we see Seahawks vs. Patriots unfold on Wednesday night, we have no idea if New England "survived.''

Oh, and most people have other "dirty words'' to describe what they think happened here.