Watch: NFL Reveals Patriots Coach Mike Vrabel’s Fate Amid Dianna Russini Scandal
The whistle is being blown on Mike Vrabel andDianna Russini once again.
Weeks after photos captured the New England Patriots head coach and NFL reporter getting close while on vacation in Arizona together, new images of the duo have emerged—and they were snapped six years before the scandal surfaced earlier this month.
Indeed, Vrabel and Russini were captured sitting together inside the Tribeca Tavern around midnight on March 11, 2020, according to new photos published by Page Six.
Two of the pics show the pair sitting closely while at the bar, with Vrabel, 50, even resting his hand on Russini’s arm and leg. But a third shot shows the NFL coach leaning in to kiss the sportscaster.
At the time, Vrabel had been married to wife Jen Vrabel, with whom he shares two sons, for 21 years. He was also working as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans. Meanwhile, Russini, 43, was working at ESPN as an NFL reporter and just six months away from her wedding to Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt. They have since tied the knot and welcomed two kids together.
E! News has reached out to reps for Russini and Vrabel for comment and has not heard back.
The new photos come one day after Vrabel, a former Patriots player who joined as head coach in 2025, announced that he’d be skipping part of the upcoming NFL draft to seek counseling.
“I promised my family, this organization and this team that I was going to give them the best version of me that I can possibly give them,” he said in a statement obtained by ESPN April 22. “In order to do so, I have committed to seeking counseling, starting this weekend.”
Amy Sussman/Getty Images/Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for SiriusXM
Though Vrabel would be in attendance for the first two rounds of the 2026 draft, which take place on April 23 and April 24, he explained why he was opting to miss final selections on April 25.
“This is something that I have given a lot of thought to and is something I would advise a player to do if I was counseling them,” he said. “I have always wanted to lead by example, and I believe this is what I have to do to be the best husband, father and coach that I possibly can be.”
As for Russini, she resigned from her reporting role at The Athletic the week after the vacation photos were published by Page Six earlier this month. (Both Russini and Vrabel previously denied any nefarious activity taking place in the photos.)
“I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept,” Russini said in an April 14 statement. “Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now—before my current contract expires on June 30. I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”
As the situation involving Vrabel and Russini continues to shake out, keep reading to see more celebrity couples who got caught up in cheating scandals…
Christopher Polk/Getty Images
including Alicia Cargile, St. Vincent and Stella Maxwell—before marrying Dylan Meyer in 2025.
As for Sanders, he and his then-wife, model Liberty Ross, divorced after 10 years and two kids in the aftermath of the scandal.
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
Jim Smeal/BEI/Shutterstock
Jeffrey Mayer/Getty Images
Taylor Hill/Getty Images
Lester Cohen/WireImage
GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images
Allen Berezovsky/WireImage
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
David Cannon/Getty Images
JB Lacroix/WireImage
John Shearer/Getty Images
Getty Images
Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Chevrolet Volt
RJ Capak/WireImage
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Walter McBride/Corbis via Getty Images
Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for DuJour
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
