Steelers insider addresses Mike Tomlin, Patriots rumor as new Mike Vrabel, Dianna Russini information emerges

In April, a report suggested that the New England Patriots could view former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin as a potential replacement for Mike Vrabel in the event that Vrabel decided to leave the Patriots amid the controversy involving the coach and longtime NFL reporter Dianna Russini.

On Wednesday, Steelers insider Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was asked if Tomlin would seriously consider becoming the Patriots' next coach at any point in the next year. 

Has Mike Tomlin made final decision about coaching career?

"I have been told he is done coaching," Dulac said about Tomlin. 

Dulac's revelation isn't entirely shocking, as both NFL insider Jay Glazer of Fox Sports and Hall of Famer Ronde Barber previously said they also believed Tomlin was "done" working as a head coach at the highest level. Glazer and Barber have close relationships with Tomlin and presumably would know something about the 54-year-old's mindset. 

As NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and others mentioned in January, the Steelers hold Tomlin's rights due to the three-year contract extension that included a team option for 2027 he signed in June 2024. Thus, the Patriots or a different club would have to send compensation to Pittsburgh to acquire Tomlin. 

There's been no indication that Tomlin would want the New England job, as he recently joined NBC to be an analyst for the network's "Football Night in America" program. 

New development in Mike Vrabel, Dianna Russini controversy arises

Vrabel and Russini, who are married to other people, were spotted spending time together at an Arizona resort in late March. Later, photos emerged of the two sharing a kiss and "sitting very close to each other" at a New York City bar in March 2020. On Wednesday, TMZ Sports revealed that Vrabel and Russini rented a boat together in June 2021 when she was pregnant with her first child.

Russini resigned from her role of covering the NFL for The Athletic in April, and Vrabel spent the final day of the 2026 NFL Draft away from the Patriots so that he could reportedly participate in counseling. In late April, he suggested he could again step away from the club if he feels his family "needs" him to do so. 

On Wednesday night, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio mentioned that the possibility exists that Vrabel could "take a leave of absence for 2026." Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has experience being an NFL head coach and theoretically could handle the job on an interim basis if Vrabel misses more than the occasional day of work over the next eight months.