Mike Vrabel had the chance to address The Athletic’s reporting on his relationship with former ESPN reporter Dianna Russini on Wednesday and he chose the coward’s way out.
The new Patriots head coach dodged every question on the topic during his media session, offering non-answers and quickly moving on. For a coach who prides himself on being a straight-shooter, it was a bizarre look.
The Athletic’s report went into detail about the professional and personal blurring that allegedly happened between the two while Russini was covering the NFL. Vrabel had every opportunity to knock it down or provide context. He gave neither.
Instead, Patriots fans got a bunch of I am focused on the season boilerplate that no one bought. When you are the highest-paid new coach in a market like New England, you do not get to no-comment your way out of a story this big.
The bigger issue is that this hangs over the entire season now. Every time the Patriots lose a close game, every time Vrabel is on the sideline for a national broadcast, this story is going to come up.
Vrabel came to Foxborough with sky-high expectations to fix a franchise that Bill Belichick left in shambles. He does not have room in his schedule for a distraction like this, especially one he could have neutralized with a clear answer.
The Athletic does not run stories like this without receipts. They have too much to lose. That fact alone should have pushed Vrabel to get in front of it rather than hide behind a podium.
Robert Kraft is watching this closely too. The Patriots owner has been through enough scandals in the past decade to know how quickly these things spiral, and he did not sign up for another one.
Vrabel now has to hope the story dies quietly. Given how the New England media works, that seems unlikely. He should have taken this off the table on day one and instead handed reporters an opening they will pick at all season long.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
