After a tumultuous offseason, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel seems to want the rest of this year to be all about football.
Findings from The Athletic’s internal investigation into now-former reporter Dianna Russini’s relationship with the coach, while both were married and working in or reporting on the NFL, may have closed the chapter on the unfortunate saga – but only if Vrabel’s Patriots find early success on the field this fall.
“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,” Athletic editorial director for standards and editorial quality Mike Semel wrote in his report. “That said, there are examples of Russini writing glowingly of Vrabel that in hindsight are awkward or even uncomfortable.”
The relationship was a “clear violation of newsroom standards” held by The Athletic, the report continued, but Russini didn’t show “bias.”
Vrabel was asked Thursday whether he had any reaction to the new report.
“No, I don't have any reaction,” he said. “We're moved on and focused on Seattle and focused on the Patriots and focused on getting better this week.”
When asked whether the situation was fully behind him, he doubled down and said, “Trying to just say that I've moved on and excited about this new opportunity here as we start this season.”
Russini, previously The Athletic’s top insider, resigned earlier this spring after photos surfaced showing her at a luxury hotel with Vrabel. After initial denials about anything untoward in the photos, Vrabel left the third day of the NFL Draft for counseling, apparently out-of-state from the rest of the front office.
This should be it for the tabloid fodder, right? Well, there are two occasions which could drudge up/prolong this sideshow, even if Patriots fans are even sicker of hearing about the relationship than hearing speculation about cornerback Christian Gonzalez’ contract.
Occasion 1: the team gets off to a really lousy start. We’re talking an 0-4, or 1-3 record out of the gates. New England faces the Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Buffalo Bills. They should be able to win at least two of those games, but drooping in the heat against the Jags isn’t outside the realm of possibility. Then, the pitchforks could come out from the local media and fans, at least until the team regains its footing. Cynics will be empowered to ask, ‘Was the focus where it should have been this spring?’ This is not to say that’s a valid concern, it’s just a plausible way in which Vrabel may have to deal with this issue again.
Occasion 2: Russini goes tell-all. Russini has been relatively quiet since the original New York Post story, only communicating with her former employer – and we’re only aware of those communications because of leaks. If Russini opted for a big interview to expand on her side of the story, it would still make headlines all these months after the drama. If the Patriots are playing well, however, it will fall through the cracks as something deemed a non-football issue.
Locally, the story has lost its legs, and the closer one gets to the team, the less relevant it feels to the day-to-day in Foxborough. Guys aren’t thinking, “What’s Dianna going to say one day?” They’re going over film, thinking about the Seahawks, and saying the Super Bowl was like any other game, (it wasn’t, but this seems to be the mental gymnastics they’re employing while preparing for a rematch). Vrabel is mostly back to himself in engaging with the media. He’s smirking and hopping on awkwardly-phrased questions. The team appeared to run a solid camp. Their new offensive weapons look great. They have concerns about depth, but they also have more blue-chip talent than they did last year.
So, is the saga finally over? It very well could be. If this report was its final chapter, it feels much more like a footnote.
