Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini both denied any wrongdoing after photos emerged of the pair together at an Arizona resort, with The Athletic firmly backing its reporter
22:23 ET, 07 Apr 2026
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was seen with a top NFL reporter
View 3 Images
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was seen with a top NFL reporter(Image: Getty)
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and senior NFL insider Dianna Russini have firmly denied any wrongdoing after photos appeared showing them together at a luxury adults-only resort in Sedona, Arizona.
The images, taken on March 28 at the Ambiente resort, a boutique hotel set against the Brins Mesa mountain range that markets itself as a romantic getaway, showed Vrabel and Russini together throughout the day. Images obtained and published by Page Six showed them lying next to one another in the boutique pool then sat alongside each other in a hot tub.
Article continues below
Further photos appeared to show them holding hands then hugging on the private rooftop of one of the resort's bungalows. But the pair both insist the images have been taken far out of context while The Athletic, owned by the New York Times, has made it clear it backs Russini.
READ MORE: Fernando Mendoza takes page out of Baker Mayfield playbook before NFL DraftREAD MORE: NFL bosses may make rule change after Kirk Cousins 'loophole' exposed
Executive editor Steven Ginsberg told Page Six: "These photos are misleading and lack essential context. These were public interactions in front of many people. Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we're proud to have her at the Athletic."
Both Vrabel and Russini are married to other people. Vrabel, 50, has been married to his wife Jen since 1999, and the couple have two sons. Russini, 43, married Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt in 2020, and they have two children together.
Both pushed back firmly on the framing of the report. Sources connected to both parties told Page Six that they had each been at the hotel with separate groups of friends who were simply not visible in the photographs.
Diana Russini
View 3 Images
Diana Russini worked as a Titans beat reporter for ESPN in 2018(Image: Getty Images)
A source close to Russini said she had been staying at the resort during a hiking trip with two female friends. A friend of Vrabel's told the outlet that the coach had driven up to Sedona for the day with another companion, and that the group had driven back to a separate hotel roughly two hours away after spending time with Russini and her party.
Vrabel addressed the story directly. "These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable," he said in a statement. "This doesn't deserve any further response."
Article continues below
Mike Vrabel and his wife on the sidelines before a game between the Patriots and the Giants.
View 3 Images
Vrabel's wife has joined him on the sidelines before NFL games.(Image: Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Russini was equally pointed in her denial. "The photos don't represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day," she said. "Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues."
Russini and Vrabel have a long professional history. When she was at ESPN, her first NFL beat was covering the Tennessee Titans, where Vrabel served as head coach beginning in 2018. Vrabel took over as Patriots head coach in January 2025 and led the team to the Super Bowl in his first season.