Dianna Russini’s Remark on Mike Vrabel's Appearance Resurfaces as Rumors Grow

The biggest story in sports right now stems from an exclusive article that Page Six published on April 7, which showed New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel holding hands, hugging, and spending time in a hot tub together with The Athletic's senior NFL insider Dianna Russini at a resort in Sedona, Arizona.

While both sides have come out and said there was nothing to the interactions between them, the nature of their relationship (both in a professional sense and because both are married) has caused a ton of speculation.

New England Patriots’ Mike Vrabel and top NY Times NFL reporter Dianna Russini hold hands and hug at luxury hotel https://t.co/kgk6uoumOU pic.twitter.com/J2dtb6HuyA
— New York Post (@nypost) April 7, 2026

Because of these photos and the ensuing comments from both sides, there is a lot of interest in Russini and Vrabel's past interactions. And they have done several interviews with each other in the past, which are now getting a lot of fresh attention.

Russini has also spoken about Vrabel during separate interviews, which now have a lot of new context to them as the rumors about their relationship grow.

Diana Russini's Past Comments About Mike Vrabel's Appearance Turn Heads After Photo Reveal

For example, Russini spoke about Vrabel during a 2024 appearance on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" podcast.

When Russini was asked whether any coach or player had gotten mad at her for a specific story, Russini said, "Yeah. Mike Vrabel. He called me the day after an aggregator took something I said, that basically said, 'Mike Vrabel is too fat to work,'" per a video from "Pardon My Take's" YouTube channel.

Barstool's Dan Katz (aka Big Cat) then responded by saying, "Oh yeah, that was a good story. You didn't say too fat! You said he was a large person. He is!"

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

"What I shared on the football podcast... was that I had dinner with a GM at the Senior Bowl, and we had conversations about how bizarre this last coaching cycle was. And how crazy it was the Belicheck and Vrabel didn't have [coaching] gigs. And I said, 'Why do you think that Mike didn't get a job?'" Russini said.

"He said, 'I think they needed a change there, in Tennessee. But in terms of the next opportunity, I think there's a lot of people who are very intimidated by him. He walks into a room, and he's confident, and physically, he's a big human being. And it's a little startling at first. Very normal right, when I say this to you?" she continued.

Hearing Russini speaking about Vrabel's appearance is definitely interesting, given their recent interaction.

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