Mike Vrabel reacts on the field.
Getty
SANTA CLARA, A local sports talk radio host presented a truly startling theory on the controversial photos of Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and reporter Dianna Russini.
A Boston-area radio host has a theory about who hired a private investigator to photograph New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and Athletic NFL reporter Dianna Russini at an Arizona resort, and he’s pointing the finger squarely at Vrabel’s former employer, the Tennessee Titans.
Whether the photos were taken by a private investigator, another guest at the resort, or someone else remains uncertain. The photos’ origin has not been confirmed.
Photos of Vrabel and Russini, who are both married but not to each other, at a Sedona resort were published by Page Six last week, setting off one of the most-discussed NFL controversies of this offseason. The photos, first reported by Page Six, showed the two holding hands and embracing outdoors at a luxury hotel. Both Vrabel and Russini have denied any romantic involvement, with Vrabel calling the images “a completely innocent interaction,” according to Fox News, and Russini saying the shots don’t show the larger group of people present at the time.
But WEEI radio host Adam Jones thinks he knows who’s behind the leak.
“I bet it’s Amy Strunk or somebody in the organization with an axe to grind against Vrabel,” Jones said on air Thursday. “She covered the Titans. She was there when he first got to Tennessee. If there’s something going on, I’d imagine — just guessing here — it’s been going on for a while. Maybe it was known in Tennessee. Maybe it’s not the first time they’ve gone to this resort. And I wonder if the Titans are behind the whole thing. If I had to guess, that’s my guess.”
The PI theory quickly became popular on social media and was also taken up by a prominent sports media figure. On his Speakeasy podcast, former NFL linebacker and media personality Emmanuel Acho argued the photos could not have been snapped by an amateur.
“An iPhone could not zoom in from that distance,” Acho said, as reported by Brandon Contes at Awful Announcing. “Those camera shots were very peculiar and intentional. That was, as the article suggested, like a spy who took those shots with a camera from a distance.”
Acho went on with his version of the theory.
“What nobody is talking about in regards to this whole situation is that a PI was hired. The question I’m curious about is just who hired the PI,” Acho declared.
Russini, meanwhile, broke her social media silence Wednesday by promoting a colleague’s story, making no mention of the controversy. According to Joe Kinsey at OutKick, the post was immediately flooded with memes demanding she address the situation directly.
NFL insider Dianna Russini poses for a photo.
GettyNFL insider journalist Dianna Russini, who was caught in seemingly intimate photos with Mike Vrabel.
Vrabel’s Tenure With the Titans and How It Ended Badly
If Jones’ theory has any traction — and there is no evidence that it does — it starts with the complicated history between Vrabel and Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk. As reported by ESPN, Strunk fired Vrabel in January 2024 after the Titans finished 6-11, their second consecutive losing season.
Vrabel went 56-48 overall during his six-year run in Nashville, which included four straight winning seasons, three consecutive playoff berths and a trip to the AFC Championship Game in 2019. He was named NFL Coach of the Year in 2021 after Tennessee finished as the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
But the final two seasons unraveled badly, with a 6-18 stretch that seemingly made the Strunk-Vrabel split inevitable.
A report from Sports Illustrated described the firing not as the result of any single incident, but rather a buildup of miscommunications and perceived slights between Vrabel and Strunk, including friction over roster control and the hiring of general manager Ran Carthon, whom Vrabel reportedly opposed.
Strunk herself described the decision as one of the hardest she’s made as controlling owner, but made clear she wasn’t looking back. Vrabel landed on his feet, taking the Patriots job. Russini, who covered the Titans closely during Vrabel’s tenure there, has been one of the NFL’s most prominent insiders at The Athletic.
What the Vrabel-Russini Photos Actually Show and What’s Still Unknown
The images, taken at what NBC News described as an adults-only resort in Sedona, show Vrabel and Russini in what appeared to be an intimate setting. Both have pushed back hard on that framing.
“The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were together during the day,” Russini said, adding that journalists routinely interact with sources outside of traditional press settings.
As for who actually hired the PI, if indeed one was hired at all, that question remains wide open. Jones is guessing the Titans. Acho is asking the question without answering it. And so far, no one connected to the Titans or Patriots organizations is talking. With the NFL Draft approaching and the Vrabel-Russini story still generating massive traffic online, it’s a safe bet this one isn’t going away quietly.