1 month ago
Exclusive photos obtained by Page Six look to show nan New England Patriots‘ caput coach Mike Vrabel and nan New York Times’ apical NFL newsman holding hands and hugging astatine a luxurious hotel.
Vrabel and Dianna Russini — a erstwhile anchor connected ESPN’s flagship “SportsCenter” who now holds nan charismatic title of nan Gray Lady’s “senior NFL insider” — were spotted 2 weekends ago at nan Ambiente successful Sedona, Arizona, a boutique edifice group against nan breathtaking Brins Mesa upland range.
A Page Six spy tells america that nan brace — some joined to different group — had meal connected nan patio of nan edifice edifice astir 10:30 a.m. connected Saturday, March 28, earlier spending a leisurely hr aliases truthful together astatine nan excavation and lounging side-by-side successful a basking tub.
Our spy spotted Vrabel and Russini again that evening connected nan backstage rooftop of 1 of nan hotel’s bungalows, which characteristic solid walls offering panoramic views of nan state’s famed Red Rock formations.
Roofs are only accessible from nan two-person bungalows, which costs up to $2,160 a night.
Photos show nan 2 hugging astatine sunset, and weaving their fingers together arsenic they guidelines face-to-face. The spy said they saw nan brace concisely creation together.
Both Russini and Vrabel insist they were location pinch friends and opportunity they simply weren’t visible successful nan pictures. A root adjacent to Russini says she was staying astatine nan edifice during a hiking travel pinch 2 female pals. One of Vrabel’s friends told Page Six that he and nan coach drove up to Sedona for nan time pinch different pal and that they each drove backmost to their ain edifice aft hanging retired pinch Russini and her gang.
But 3 different eyewitnesses told america that they did not spot anyone other pinch Vrabel, 50, and Russini, 43. Asked if nan Pats coach visited nan edifice pinch a group of friends, 1 eyewitness said: “No, he was pinch a girl.” And our series of photographs taken astatine various during nan time only show Vrabel and Russini,
Vrabel attended a scouting arena astatine Arizona State University successful Tempe connected Friday, March 27, earlier walking 125 miles to nan Ambiente. One of his friends told Page Six that he and nan coach drove up to Sedona for nan time pinch different pal and backmost to their ain hotel, immoderate 2 hours away, aft nan impromptu bent pinch Russini and her gang.
The adults-only Ambiente prides itself connected being a romanticist getaway, boasting connected its website astir 158 proposals and thousands of anniversaries and honeymoons that person happened astatine nan hotel.
After being seen pinch Russini, Vrabel headed to nan Biltmore Hotel successful Phoenix for a meeting of nan NFL Competition Committee, a group of owners and coaches who oversee nan game’s rulebook.
Russini was among galore NFL reporters astatine nan Biltmore on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of past week erstwhile media had entree to owners, executives and coaches.
On Thursday, nan Athletic published a dispatch astir nan Biltmore meetings written by Russini and Jacob Robinson.
Russini has been 1 of nan much salient shot reporters successful nan state for much than a decade and routinely covers nan Patriots arsenic portion of nan gig.
She joined “SportsCenter” successful 2015 and has appeared connected ESPN’s celebrated “NFL Countdown” and “NFL Live” shows.
In 2023, she joined nan Athletic, nan once-independent tract that was acquired by nan Times and now provides nan paper’s sports coverage. Russini hosts its “Scoop City: Inside The NFL” podcast.
Vrabel, who played 8 seasons arsenic a linebacker for nan Patriots, took complete arsenic nan team’s apical coach successful January 2025 and stunned nan convention by taking nan squad to nan Super Bowl this year.
The six-time Super Bowl-winning Patriots are classed by Forbes arsenic nan 4th astir valuable squad successful nan NFL, worthy astir $9 cardinal pinch an yearly gross of $762 million. Vrabel is believed to gain astir $15 cardinal a year.
He and Russini spell measurement back.
Covering nan Tennessee Titans was Russini’s first NFL hit astatine ESPN, and she was nan network’s boots connected nan crushed successful Nashville by nan clip Vrabel came successful arsenic caput coach successful 2018.
“They went from being [a team] cipher thought astir to Mike sewage them playing really well,” she said of that year’s squad connected nan “Patriots Unfiltered” podcast successful February. “And then, of course, they went to nan AFC Championship Game successful 2019.”
In 2015, Russini weathered a contention erstwhile nan woman of nan Washington Redskins (now nan Washington Commanders) GM Scot McCloughlan publically accused them of having an affair.
After nan newsman collapsed a communicative astir Kirk Cousins replacing Robert Griffin III as nan Redskins’ starting quarterback, Jessica McCloughlan reportedly wrote connected Twitter, “I’m beautiful judge this info is coming from my hubby to his caller broadside chick, Dianna.”
Jessica deleted nan tweet and her relationship and apologized to Russini.
“I profoundly apologize for nan disparaging remarks astir an ESPN newsman connected my individual Twitter account. The remark was unfounded and inappropriate, and I person nan utmost respect for some nan newsman and ESPN,” she wrote astatine nan time.
“I regret that my actions person brought undeserved antagonistic attraction to nan Redskins statement and its leadership. My comments successful nary measurement bespeak nan opinions aliases attitudes of nan statement and I regret that my behaviour has successful immoderate measurement negatively impacted nan squad and its loyal instrumentality base.”
ESPN besides defended its newsman successful a statement, saying, “Dianna is an fantabulous newsman who should ne'er person to beryllium subjected to specified vulgar comments. We are evidently highly disappointed by today’s developments.”
The expectations connected Russini person been sky-high since she joined nan Atlantic.
“To deliberation Dianna Russini will almost surely make much money than Maggie Haberman aliases David Brooks—Times legends—and, crazily, mightiness gain much than them combined, is simply a motion of nan unusual sports publicity times we unrecorded in,” NBC’s Peter King wrote connected her signing. “Stars who screen nan NFL make crazy salaries compared to nan money group make covering news that genuinely matters.”
Russini has talked astir nan unit to lead nan highly respected outlet’s shot coverage, particularly nan request to get adjacent pinch nan apical figures successful nan game.
“I had truthful galore group successful shot scope retired and say, ‘You’re gonna drown unless you do this, this and this,'” she said correct earlier this year’s Super Bowl. “I really had a caput coach scope retired to maine successful my first 3 months and say, ‘How travel you don’t telephone me?’… His constituent was, ‘Your competitors are calling me, truthful if you want to enactment successful this and do this astatine a precocious level, you’re going to person to beryllium much aggressive.’ And I deliberation I’ve sewage a small much fierce since.”
Russini joined Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt successful 2020. They person 2 children.
She marked their 2022 anniversary connected Instagram, writing: “2 years coming was nan champion time of my life — erstwhile I joined Kev successful beforehand of our family and dozens of friends complete zoom! It’s you and only you, for me, forever.”
Vrabel and woman Jennifer reportedly met arsenic student athletes astatine Ohio State University and celebrated 25 years of matrimony successful 2024. They person 2 sons, 1 of whom, Tyler, concisely played for nan Atlanta Falcons.
The coach told Page Six Tuesday, “These photos show a wholly guiltless relationship and immoderate proposal different is laughable. This doesn’t merit immoderate further response.”
And Russini told us, “The photos don’t correspond nan group of six group who were hanging retired during nan day. Like astir journalists successful nan NFL, reporters interact pinch sources distant from stadiums and different venues.”
Steven Ginsberg, executive editor of nan Athletic, said: “These photos are misleading and deficiency basal context. These were nationalist interactions successful beforehand of galore people. Dianna is simply a premier journalist covering nan NFL and we’re proud to person her astatine nan Athletic.”
Additional reporting by Kevin Sheehan and Ben Brown
