The 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is underway, but one of the biggest storylines has been the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini situation, the scandal that has made more headlines for the off-field drama.
After it was announced that Vrabel would be skipping Day 3 of the NFL Draft for counseling, Super Bowl Champion Mark Schlereth called out the whole situation as a “Clown show.”
Mike Vrabel Called Out for Skipping Day 3 of the NFL Draft
In 2018, the Tennessee Titans hired Vrabel as their new head coach, needing something to turn their franchise around. Immediately upon coming in, he set a culture change in Tennessee.
During his time with the team, he coached the team to a regular-season record of 54-45 (.545) and several playoff appearances. However, the team had a 2-3 playoff record during his reign, and his best playoff run came in 2019, when they beat the Patriots in the Wild Card round, the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round, and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Conference Championships.
Following that, Vrabel was fired by the Titans, but he was picked up a year later by the New England Patriots, who went to the Super Bowl in his first year.
In PFSN’s NFL Defensive Impact Metric, the Patriots ranked 12th with an impact score of 78.2 and a letter grade of C+. Meanwhile, they ranked second with an impact score of 86.6 and a letter grade of B in PFSN’s NFL Offensive Impact Metric.
Not only did Vrabel lead the Titans to the Super Bowl in his first year, but he proved again why he’s a top coach in the league. However, it’s been quite an offseason for him, and not in a good way.
During league meetings, Vrabel and Russini were photographed cozied up together at a resort in Arizona. Meanwhile, both are married, and even worse, it wasn’t a one-time thing; pictures have been coming out for as long as 6 years.
Given the situation, it’s been announced that Vrabel won’t attend Day 3 of the draft so he can attend counseling. However, Schlereth has called out the situation, comparing it to a “Clown show.”
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“Get so giddy about the draft like it’s going to fix our problems, kinda like taking Saturday of the draft off to fix your relationship,” said Schlereth. “Hey man, we’re really gonna be committed to fixing our problems; who is the crisis company that’s like ‘hey, here’s a good idea. You know, the draft is Thursday and Friday, those days are too important. But Saturday… then we’ll address the importance of our family.’ What a clown show that whole thing is.”
Mark Schlereth calls the Patriots and Vrabel’s handling of the scandal a “Clown Show”😳 pic.twitter.com/SsyPGgH31F
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) April 23, 2026
One thing is for certain: this whole thing has been a stain on an excellent year that Vrabel had with the Patriots. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the situation plays out, and what the future holds for the head coach.
