After a surprise Super Bowl run and Drake Maye finishing as the NFL MVP runner-up, the vibe in New England was full of optimism. The Patriots were looking like a perennial contender with plenty of untapped potential.
Unfortunately, the conversation has shifted off the field, centering around head coach Mike Vrabel and the controversy involving NFL insider Dianna Russini. This has put the locker room in an awkward spot, and for the first time since the story broke, Maye addressed it publicly.
Drake Maye Shows Support for His HC Mike Vrabel
Maye didn’t dodge the question.
“We’re here for Coach, we love Coach,” Maye said. “What he does for us, what he’s done for us this past year, you can’t speak into words. Thankful he’s our head coach. Know he’s dealing with some off the field and out of the coaching world, but we’re here for him and I know he’s gonna come back.”
In Maye’s first comments about the scandal, he sent a strong message of support and made sure to conclude his quote by stressing that Vrabel isn’t going anywhere.
.@JHall7news asked Drake Maye about the recent scandal involving Mike Vrabel: “We’re here for coach, we love coach.” pic.twitter.com/ctkPoFftRX
— Marlee Wierda (@marleewierda) April 30, 2026
This lines up with how others in the building are handling the scandal. Veterans like Robert Spillane and Hunter Henry have echoed that support, keeping everything internal while publicly backing their head coach.
“I thought he did a great job. It’s been the same Vrabes, bringing a lot of that energy in the room. Obviously he addressed it and that’s kind of all I’ll say about it,” Henry said.
Spillane, entering his second season with the Patriots, spoke about the importance of supporting Vrabel.
“Coach coaches football. He keeps the main thing the main thing. So I know he’s dealing with personal issues, but when we’re in the building we speak football,” Spillane said. “I love coach and I’m going to be there to support him as he would be there to support me through everything. I’m just a player and I’m trying to do that as best I can.”
Vrabel has addressed the media twice since the scandal broke, acknowledging that he’s had “difficult” but “positive and productive” conversations with his family and team. He made headlines when he decided to step away on Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft to attend counseling before returning to the facility the next day.
However, Maye is the face of the franchise, so fans were understandably curious to hear what he thought of this situation. Rather than give a “no comment,” he backed his coach, which says a lot about the current environment inside the building.
This is important as it comes after former players like Robert Griffin III had questioned whether Vrabel could still lead the same way.
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“It’s really hard to stand in front of the room. I know nobody wants to talk about it, but with everything that’s happened with Vrabel and Dianna Russini, it’s really hard to stand in front of a room of those men and lead them in the same way,” RG3 said. “And we’ve heard some reports about Vrabel not necessarily being the same guy in the building, right?”
For now, based on what Maye, Spillane, and Henry have said, things appear steady. The Patriots have backed Vrabel publicly and the NFL has said that it isn’t investigating this situation, as they are treating it as a personal matter.
That means the Patriots and Vrabel just need to wait for this to blow over. While it isn’t showing any signs of slowing down right now, especially as new information surfaces daily, it will eventually quiet down.
Maye is coming off a year in which he completed 72% of his passes for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns, and just 8 interceptions, finishing No. 2 overall on PFSN’s NFL QB Impact rankings.
Maye and Vrabel are hoping to build on their recent Super Bowl run and put together an even better Year 2 together in 2026.
