Pats have reportedly made massive Mike Vrabel decision

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Patriots have reportedly made massive Mike Vrabel decision amid Dianna Russini controversy

By Zac Wassink | Last updated May 8, 2026 8:04 AM ET

Following the latest update regarding the controversy involving New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and longtime NFL reporter Dianna Russini, whispers surfaced suggesting that Vrabel could "take a leave of absence" for the 2026 season.

It appears that's currently the only way he won't remain with the Patriots this offseason.

Robert Kraft has made a Mike Vrabel decision amid Dianna Russini controversy

"League sources continue to indicate that the franchise is firmly behind Vrabel," NFL insider Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom US reported on Thursday.

La Canfora added that Vrabel has the "full support" of team owner Robert Kraft "as [Vrabel] attempts to prepare the team for its defense of an AFC crown and also try to repair the damage he has done to his family."

La Canfora's update came less than 24 hours after TMZ Sports revealed that Vrabel and Russini rented a boat together in June 2021 when she was pregnant with her first child. Eyebrows were first raised when photos surfaced in April showing Vrabel and Russini, who are married to other people, spending time together at an Arizona resort in late March.

Since that time, pictures have emerged showing the two sharing a kiss and "sitting very close to each other" at a New York City bar in March 2020. They were also spotted at the Beau Rivage Casino in Mississippi in January 2024. Russini resigned from her role of reporting on the NFL for The Athletic in April.

EXCLUSIVE: New Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel video shows the two heading out for their Tennessee boat day while she was very much showing during her first pregnancy. pic.twitter.com/eDgaEZYDiH
— TMZ (@TMZ) May 7, 2026

NFL general manager comments on Mike Vrabel, Dianna Russini controversy

"You know how this league works," one general manager said while speaking about the Vrabel-Russini matter with La Canfora. "Kraft isn’t going to do anything unless the league makes him, and that’s not happening because of an affair. It’s not like this was in-office. If it was the wife of somebody else on his staff, that would be a different story."

Quarterback Drake Maye has publicly offered support for Vrabel on multiple occasions since the coach reportedly participated in counseling while away from the Patriots on the final day of the 2026 NFL Draft. Some have speculated that Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels could serve as New England's interim coach later this year, but La Canfora wrote that Kraft parting ways with Vrabel "based on something unrelated to football a few months after nearly hoisting the Lombardi Trophy is far-fetched in the eyes of NFL execs who know him."

Whether or not Vrabel will step away from the Patriots for longer than a day or two later this year shall be seen.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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