The New England Patriots’ training camp is underway, and so far, Mike Vrabel has avoided the one question everybody expected.
Reporters covering camp haven’t brought up the Dianna Russini scandal that dominated headlines throughout the offseason. While the Patriots have stood by Vrabel every step of the way, ESPN’s senior NFL reporter Kalyn Kahler believes his job security took a bit of a hit as a result of the controversy.
Kalyn Kahler Questions How Much Margin for Error Mike Vrabel Has As Patriots HC
During an appearance on Dan Bernstein’s “Forward Progress” podcast, Kahler was candid about Vrabel’s current situation.
“I think now it’s clear that Vrabel’s going to be here for the whole season,” she said. “It doesn’t seem like there’s another Page Six [report] coming out, but who knows? At any point there could be more to this, right? I do think that like his coaching status is somewhat fragile. He already took time away to go to counseling.”
In April, Page Six published photos of Vrabel and Russini together at a resort in Sedona, Arizona. The images showed the two holding hands and hugging. Later, additional photos and videos indicated that their alleged relationship had been going on since 2020.
Russini resigned from The Athletic back in April, and there’s an ongoing internal probe into her reporting. Meanwhile, as Kahler mentioned, Vrabel stepped away from the Patriots during the final day of the 2026 NFL Draft to attend counseling. The NFL, for its part, has said it isn’t reviewing Vrabel’s conduct under its personal conduct policy as they are treating this as a personal matter.
Vrabel has admitted that he isn’t sure if the scandal will cause him to miss additional time during the season.
“I can only tell you that I’m going to be there today,” Vrabel told reporters back in May. “I can’t tell you anything other than I’m going to be out there today in full force. Who knows what’s going to come up? I’m not even, you know, anything could happen.”
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Kahler said that she hasn’t done much reporting on the Russini-Vrabel scandal yet but she plans to now that she’s back from vacation, particularly looking at how it could impact the Patriots’ season. She pointed to a report from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer earlier this spring that people inside the organization felt Vrabel had “not been the same.”
To Kahler, that wasn’t surprising. She argued that anyone dealing with a personal crisis is unlikely to be at their best, and that inevitably affects a head coach’s leadership, whether players acknowledge it publicly or not.
The Patriots are coming off a Super Bowl appearance, and the front office seems eager to build on that success. Star wide receiver A.J. Brown was acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, and New England also added Kevin Byard, Romeo Doubs, Dre’Mont Jones, and Alijah Vera-Tucker..
While the outlook on the field appears promising, Vrabel will continue to carry the weight of the offseason controversy, especially in rival stadiums where rival fans and players are unlikely to let this slide (as Kahler noted).
Kahler made it clear that she doesn’t believe Vrabel’s job is in immediate jeopardy. It helps that he is coming off a Super Bowl run and Coach of the Year award.
However, given that Russini has yet to tell her side of the story and The Athletic’s investigation has yet to conclude, it’s understandable why she is viewing his job status as “somewhat fragile.”
