Coach Mike Vrabel back with Patriots after missing NFL draft Day 3, per report
Former Titans coach Mike Vrabel was back at work with the Patriots after skipping Day 3 of the NFL draft as he was "committed to seeking counseling."
New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel returned to work April 27, according to an ESPN report, after he missed the last day of the 2026 NFL Draft , as he was "committed to seeking counseling. " Vrabel also stated he wanted to spend time with his family after photos were leaked showing him and NFL reporter Dianna Russini, formerly of The Athletic, together at an adults-only Arizona resort before the annual NFL meetings in late March. Addition photos of Vrabel and a woman believed to be Russini were released by TMZ and the New York Post on April 22 and 23.
Vrabel, who spent six seasons as coach of the Tennessee Titans , was not with the Patriots April 25 during the last four rounds of the draft. "My priorities are my family and this football team — in that order," Vrabel, who led the Patriots to the Super Bowl last season, said April 23. "And there is a balance there that I am going to create.
My family needs me this weekend, and that's where I'll be. " What Mike Vrabel said about his brief leave of absence "I take accountability for my actions and the actions that caused a distraction to the people I care most about," Vrabel said April 23. "My previous actions don't meet the standard that I hold myself to.
What I believe is best for the two most important things in my life, my family and the football team, is to work through this together. "That's going to start, that has started, that'll continue this weekend and that'll continue for however long that takes for me to complete that promise of me giving them the best version of me possible. " What happened to Dianna Russini?