{"id":861645,"date":"2026-04-08T21:56:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T21:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/861645\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T21:56:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T21:56:28","slug":"new-england-patriots-coach-mike-vrabel-and-nfl-reporter-dianna-russini-speak-out-on-leaked-vacation-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/861645\/","title":{"rendered":"New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and NFL reporter Dianna Russini speak out on leaked vacation photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

It might take a \u201cHail Mary\u201d to explain away this situation.<\/p>\n

New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and NFL reporter Dianna Russini \u2014 who are both married to other people \u2014 were seen holding hands and hugging at an adults-only resort in Sedona, Ariz. in a series of exclusive photos published by Page Six<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not what it looks like, insist the pair.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,\u201d Vrabel tells the New York Post.<\/a> \u201cThis doesn\u2019t deserve any further response.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

Mike Vrabel (far right) coaching the New England Patriots at the 2026 Super Bowl
Credit: Barry Chin\/The Boston Globe via Getty<\/p>\n

Russini, who covers the NFL for The Athletic, added some context to the snapshots in her own statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe photos don\u2019t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day,\u201d she told the NYP<\/a> in her own statement. \u201cLike most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dianna<\/p>\n

Dianna Russini interviews Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions in 2025
Credit: Stephen Maturen\/Getty<\/p>\n

Russini\u2019s employer is also backing her claim. Steven Ginsberg, executive editor of\u00a0The Athletic (which is owned by The New York Times) blasted the photos as \u201cmisleading\u201d to the NYP<\/a>. \u201cThese were public interactions in front of many people. Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we\u2019re proud to have her at The Athletic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vrabel, a onetime NFL linebacker, played seven seasons with the Patriots from 2001 to 2008. He was named head coach of the team in January 2025 and went on to lead the Patriots to the 2026 Super Bowl, ultimately losing to the Seattle Seahawks 29-13.<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

Mike Vrabel with his wife Jen at the 2026 Super Bowl
Credit: Kevin Mazur\/Getty<\/p>\n

In his personal life, Vrabel is married to his college sweetheart Jen. The couple shares two adult sons who also play professional sports.<\/p>\n

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our\u00a0EW Dispatch newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As for Russini, who previously worked at ESPN as an NFL analyst and SportsCenter anchor, the New York native married Shake Shack executive\u00a0Kevin Goldschmidt in 2020. The couple also have two children.<\/p>\n

This past September, Russini posted a throwback to their wedding day to celebrate five years as husband and wife. \u201cHappy Anniversary to my own parents\u2019 favorite person\u2026and mine too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It might take a \u201cHail Mary\u201d to explain away this situation. New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":861646,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2050],"tags":[6164,7,838,1167,249,21125,2326,2094,6,208,261,4394],"class_list":{"0":"post-861645","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-england-patriots","8":"tag-dianna-russini","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-mike-vrabel","11":"tag-new-england","12":"tag-new-england-patriots","13":"tag-new-york-post","14":"tag-newengland","15":"tag-newenglandpatriots","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-patriots","18":"tag-seattle-seahawks","19":"tag-the-athletic"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116371326683961190","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=861645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/861646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=861645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=861645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=861645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}