New England Patriots
“We’re privileged to have Mike as our head coach. No one is infallible.”
Robert Kraft on “First Take” on Friday. Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images for Fanatics)
Patriots owner Robert Kraft broke his silence about Patriots coach Mike Vrabel’s offseason during a recent appearance on ESPN’s First Take.
Vrabel had denied having an affair with Dianna Russini, a longtime NFL reporter. He later said that he had to have hard conversations with his family and wound up missing Day 3 of the NFL draft.
Russini resigned from her post as a senior insider at The Athletic. Vrabel remains as head coach of the Patriots. New England is set to start training camp in Foxborough next weekend.
“We’re privileged to have Mike as our head coach. No one is infallible,” Kraft said. “What’s great about Mike is he has great intellectual knowledge about football – all the technical skills – [and] he relates to the players beautifully.
“He’s someone I have a strong belief and faith in. I hope he’s going to be our head coach for many years to come.”
Vrabel and Russini were photographed together at an Arizona resort, holding hands and spending time in a hot tub. Vrabel said, at the time, that it was an innocent interaction. Russini said the photos did not show the entire group they were with.
The Athletic made a statement in support of Russini, but later suspended her and launched an investigation into the matter. She resigned in April. The New York Times, which owns The Athletic, ran a lengthy story about Russini last month.
The Patriots made the Super Bowl last year in Vrabel’s first season as head coach with the franchise. He previously spent eight seasons with the franchise as a player. His first NFL head coaching stop was with the Tennessee Titans, where Russini had been covering the team for ESPN.
Vrabel is the Patriots’ third head coach since the end of the 2023 season. New England parted ways with Bill Belichick in January of 2024 before hiring Jerod Mayo, who lasted just one season.
Mayo and Vrabel are the only coaches Kraft has hired who haven’t won a Super Bowl as coaches with the Patriots in New England or elsewhere. Bill Belichick won an NFL-record six titles with New England. Parcells won two titles with the Giants before he joined the Patriots. Pete Carroll won a championship with the Seahawks after leaving New England.
New England lost to Seattle in the Super Bowl last February. Despite the loss, the Patriots made a stunning turnaround from a 4-13 finish in 2024 to winning the AFC in 2025.
“We like everyone to have humility, and when you say things like that, especially when you win and you win big, staying humble,” Kraft said. “I’ll tell you, he relates to the players in a unique way.
“I’ve been privileged to have my three former head coaches all won Super Bowls. So I’ve gotten to see what’s necessary in a coach. And he’s, you know, he was a great player with us, he won three Super Bowls, he has experience, and he really knows how to connect.”
Patriots training camp begins next Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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