At this point, it’s been well established that Dianna Russini balances her role as the mother of two toddlers with also being one of the NFL’s preeminent news-breakers.
But on Tuesday, it was a different group of children The Athletic NFL insider found herself dealing with during her job, as news broke that the New York Jets had fired head coach Robert Saleh during her weekly hit on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.
Suffice to say, the breaking news left Russini scrambling, as she rushed to confirm the news and post it to X — initially doing so with a typo. All the while, the ex-ESPNer remained on camera for Meadowlark Media’s flagship show, but was far more focused on her phone than she was answering questions from the likes of Le Batard and Jon “Stugotz” Weiner.
“Oh, Dianna is reacting to this,” Le Batard said, as the news interrupted a conversation regarding the dumbest way to die. “We’ve got an insider right now who is looking at this. Her mouth is open. We have a natural in the wild video of Dianna getting the news from her phone. She’s too busy talking with us about stupid s**t.”
“Do you think Belichick called?” Weiner, a Jets fan, asked.
“Do we feel bad for Robert Saleh?” executive producer Chris Cote asked.
“I feel bad for Dianna!” multiple members of the show’s cast responded simultaneously.
Russini temporarily left the screen to presumably contact sources but later returned, remaining on air but not engaged with the rest of the show. She ultimately proceeded to answer various questions about the situation, correctly theorizing that offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett would not be named the Jets’ interim head coach.
While the news breaking mid-segment made for great content for Le Batard, watching Russini react to it in real-time was both fascinating, and frankly, stressful. Fortunately, she has no shortage of experience multitasking, which was evident in the way she handled the situation while also remaining on air.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.