New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel has been at the forefront of a media storm this offseason due to his alleged relationship with NFL insider Dianna Russini.
After photos of the pair surfaced, with some dating back as far as 2020, the saga has dominated headlines and featured plenty of twists and turns. The scandal has also prompted plenty of debates over journalistic ethics and whether they broke any league rules.
Analyst Blasts Mike Vrabel for Alleged Relationship With Dianna Russini
During the latest episode of “The Howard Eskin Show,” analyst Howard Eskin blasted Vrabel and Russini’s alleged relationship and weighed in on whether there was any “tampering.”
While speaking to Crissy Froyd, who was fired by USA Today for commenting on the Russini-Vrabel scandal, Eskin weighed in.
“It wasn’t you that was the problem, it was Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini, two people that have still not told the truth. It’s disgraceful,” Eskin said. “If they want to have a relationship and they’re doing what they’re doing, that’s fine, do what you wanna do… He used her, and that’s tampering.
“She’ll ask other coaches and players things and then she’ll share it with him. Whether it’s in the bedroom or it’s over dinner or it’s in the pool or wherever it is. That part is wrong and it’s difficult… She covered the Titans for obvious reasons and then she went and covered the Patriots, it’s just totally wrong.”
NFL insider Mike Florio has made similar claims, wondering if Russini may have used her reporting to help impact the trade market for certain players to benefit Vrabel’s teams such as when the Titans traded for Julio Jones.
The Vrabel-Russini drama got underway when Page Six published pictures of the duo at the adults-only Ambiente Resort in Arizona on April 7. Amid widespread backlash, Russini resigned from The Athletic on April 14 before the outlet completed its internal investigation.
The saga took a turn when Page Six published pictures of Vrabel and Russini kissing in a bar in New York six years ago. TMZ piled on by posting a video of the couple on a private boat trip in Tennessee in 2021 when Russini was pregnant with her first child.
Back in September 2025, Russini was one of the first NFL insiders to report that several teams, including the Patriots, were interested in trading for Brown, even predicting that he wouldn’t be traded in March but in June.
On June 1, the Patriots acquired Brown in an exchange for a 2028 first-round pick and 2027 fifth-round pick, reuniting Vrabel with the talented wide receiver whom he previously coached in Tennessee.
