New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel’s scandal involving reporter Dianna Russini could trickle down into his professional life. The controversy has dominated the offseason headlines, and while Russini resigned from The Athletic, it remains to be seen what becomes of Vrabel’s standing in New England.
Patriots HC Mike Vrabel Could Be Out of New England Sooner Than Expected
There’s been plenty of vagueness surrounding the Vrabel-Russini scandal, including the head coach missing Day 3 of the NFL draft to undergo counseling, only to be spotted on the other side of the country in Salt Lake City.
Amid the controversial photos and lack of transparency, Vrabel’s standing with the Patriots is widely questioned. Former NFL cornerback Dominique Foxworth recently discussed the situation on the “Dominique Foxworth Show” and revealed how bad things could get in New England.
“I think that [when] this first came up, it was kind of like an explosive, like, salacious side story that none of us thought was gonna have any deep football implications,” Foxworth said. “It’s clear that there’s been some fractured trust between Mike Vrabel and the team.”
The scandal reportedly changed the head coach’s standing in the team, and the upcoming season could determine his future in Foxborough.
“If they [Patriots] don’t perform well, this will be the main reason why — whether it’s true or not,” Foxworth added. “Whether it’s a deterioration of talent or scheme or whatever, no matter what happens, the result of this season, if it goes poorly, we’re all gonna come back to this and say, ‘This was when he lost the team. This was when things went wrong.'”
Losing a locker room is a notorious sign that usually marks the end of a player or coach’s time with a team. Maintaining synergy within the team will be key to Vrabel driving the Patriots back to the Super Bowl, and his ongoing situation with Russini could be a wrench in that.
The fact that Vrabel is also speculated to be behind information leaks doesn’t help his defense.
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“I was kind of surprised at the reaction, internally to feel like there was some issue with the players looking at him,” Foxworth said. “And I guess it speaks to the things that he emphasizes. It feels like [the scandal] undercuts some of that… I think that would be the biggest concerning thing, like, we can’t trust you.”
Foxworth’s co-host, Charlie Kravitz, said a baseball executive told him that if Vrabel were their manager, they would fire him because they can’t have someone leaking stuff to the press for personal gain.
