The New England Patriots head coach, Mike Vrabel, has dominated NFL headlines for over a month, and none of it has anything to do with football. He has been at the center of a growing off-field controversy involving former Athletic senior NFL insider Dianna Russini after Page Six published photos on April 7 showing the two at a luxury resort in Sedona, Arizona.
Both are married to other people, and additional photos and videos have surfaced since, documenting their encounters from 2020. Russini resigned from The Athletic on April 14 during an internal investigation by her employer. Yet through all of it, the NFL has remained on the sidelines. That silence has drawn pointed criticism from five-time Pro Bowl receiver Jarvis Landry.
Jarvis Landry Calls Out the NFL’s Lack of Action on Mike Vrabel
Vrabel missed the third day of the 2026 NFL Draft to attend counseling, and that raised questions about his future with the Patriots. However, league spokesman Brian McCarthy had already confirmed to USA Today before the draft that Vrabel is not under investigation for any violation of the personal conduct policy.
Speaking on the “4th and South” podcast, which he co-hosts with former NFL running back Leonard Fournette, Landry didn’t hold back about the league’s handling of the situation.
“My biggest thing here is like, you know, like where’s the etiquette?” Landry said. “You know, what’s the standard for situations like this, right? We haven’t seen the NFL come out and say anything about this situation. We haven’t really seen if there’s going to be any disciplinary actions happening around this situation… or if this is one of those things that, you know, we see again that gets pushed under the rug because it’s the New England Patriots.”
Landry, who played nine NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, and New Orleans Saints, expressed his disbelief at the scope of what has unfolded at the expense of Vrabel and Russini.
“I’ve done a few interviews with Dianna Russini. I was totally shocked by this entire thing,” he continued. “I did not see it coming. I was blown away, like most people were. Watching some of the things that have spiraled out of control over the last three weeks, and you know, I really couldn’t believe it. And again, you know, nobody’s perfect. I understand that people make dumb decisions each and every day.”
Landry then highlighted the issue he felt most passionately about: the double standards in how the league and teams treat their coaches.
“I think it’s one of those things from a league standpoint, I would like to have seen some course of action taken surrounding this matter from the league because I know that if there was a black coach, I think it would have been a way different, you know, propaganda around why we had to let this coach go,” Landry added.
BE AN NFL GM: PFSN’s Ultimate GM Simulator
The consequences for both parties have been quite different. Russini resigned from her position at The Athletic and saw her professional reputation harmed by six weeks of tabloid coverage. In contrast, Vrabel is unlikely to be fired, especially after leading the Patriots’ impressive turnaround last season.
Given the league’s track record of quick action against players and coaches for off-field conduct, Landry’s frustration carries weight. The NFL fined and suspended players for far less during his nine-year career.
Based on the rules, Vrabel didn’t do anything that warrants his losing his job, but the perception gap that Landry identified is unlikely to go away.
As we approach the 2026 NFL campaign, the season opener in Seattle will put Vrabel back in the spotlight, where the questions directed at him might not be limited to football.
