New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye insists the team remains fully behind Mike Vrabel amid their embattled head coach’s affair scandal.
Vrabel began counseling last Saturday following explosive allegations that he had an affair with female sports reporter Dianna Russini, who resigned from her job at The Athletic earlier this month after Page Six released photos of them fraternizing at a $2,500-a-night adults-only retreat in Sedona, Arizona.
The pair, who are both married with children, initially denied those accusations while claiming they were at the resort with a larger group of people at the time.
However, last week Vrabel issued a groveling apology to his family and revealed he would be starting counseling at the weekend, which forced him to miss the third day of the NFL Draft.
And following his return to New England duty this week, the 50-year-old has received some much-needed support from his starting quarterback.
‘We’re here for Coach, we love Coach,’ Maye told 7News Boston WHDH on Wednesday night. ‘What he does for us, what he’s done for us this past year, you can’t speak into words.
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye says the team remains fully behind Mike Vrabel
‘Just thankful he’s our head coach. Know he’s dealing with some off the field and out of the coaching world, but we’re here for him and I know he’s gonna come back.’
Maye, 23, was selected by the Patriots with the third overall pick in the 2024 Draft after his standout college career with North Carolina.
Following a disappointing rookie year, in which the team failed to make the playoffs, the Huntersville native helped New England reach its first Super Bowl for seven years after Vrabel replaced Jerod Mayo as head coach.
In 21 regular and postseason outings, Maye threw for 5,222 yards for 37 touchdowns while also registering 628 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns, before the Patriots were beaten at Super Bowl LX by the Seattle Seahawks.
Vrabel, who previously spent time as head coach of the Tennessee Titans, was afforded a round of applause and a standing ovation when he greeted fans in Foxborough on Wednesday.
During a season ticket holder event at Gillette Stadium, he received a warm welcome back to the team following his counseling session over the weekend, suggesting Patriots fans are very much still behind him.
In an emotional press conference last week, Vrabel admitted he had been forced to have some ‘difficult conversations’ with his family about the Russini scandal.
Yet as a source told The Daily Mail, he also feels remorse over Russini’s situation after she quit her job at The Athletic.
Vrabel began counseling last Saturday following explosive allegations that he had an affair with female sports reporter Dianna Russini (right)
‘Mike feels terrible on many levels, especially since Dianna’s career is pretty much over, and that blood is on his hands,’ the insider said. ‘He feels terrible that he is responsible and that she may never be able to work again.’
As the Daily Mail previously reported, the New York Times – the parent company of The Athletic – launched an investigation into the photos when contacted by Page Six after the Russini-Vrabel interaction in Sedona.
She was later placed on leave, the Daily Mail learned, before ultimately resigning from her position. Her contract was reportedly set to expire at the end of June.
A bombshell ESPN report claimed Russini was given the chance to clear her name by the Times, yet she failed to do so.
‘I do so [resign] not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career,’ she said in her exit statement. ‘I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published.
‘When the Page Six item first appeared, The Athletic supported me unequivocally, expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism. For that I am grateful.’
Vrabel, meanwhile, has the full support of the Patriots after starting counseling over the weekend.
He issued a groveling apology to his family and revealed he would seek counseling last week
Page Six ignited the firestorm by publishing pictures of Vrabel hugging, lounging poolside and laughing with Russini at the retreat, as well as photos of them having breakfast ‘alone’ that same morning.
Other images have since emerged appearing to show the pair looking cozy at a New York bar back in 2020, when Vrabel was the coach of the Titans.
A source also told Daily Mail that a ‘shellshocked’ Russini is still trying to work her way through what has been a ‘very intense’ few weeks.
‘Dianna is a bit shellshocked by it all and has not really shown her hand in all of this, as it has been a very intense situation that she is still trying to figure out and feel out,’ a source told the Daily Mail.
‘She’s neither here nor there right now as the dust hasn’t settled one bit. Nobody including herself knows what the next move for her will be.
‘One thing she is mainly focusing on is being a mom and to protect her kids through all of this madness.’
