Mike Vrabel & Dianna Russini forgot the most important rule

In last Thursday’s newsletter, I shouted out crisis and reputation strategist Molly McPherson’s thoughts on the Dianna Russini-Mike Vrabel controversy. While that came after Russini resigned from The Athletic but before the New England Patriots coach finally spoke to the media about it, McPherson said the reporter was destined to lose her job over the scandal.

“This is not an inequity story, or we’re punishing the female and not the male,” said McPherson. “No, she was given a position of trust with The Athletic, and she broke that trust. That’s why she lost the job.”

As for Vrabel, she said that while he was unlikely to receive any punishment, the “contempt” he showed in his initial statement was what would come back to bite him.

“Mike Vrabel saying that anyone thinking this is a story is ‘laughable,’ that’ contempt,” she said. “Contempt towards fans, anyone, the press. Anyone that found that to be a story. It’s ‘laughable.’ That’s the stuff that follows you.”

I’ve been thinking about all of that over the last few days. First, after Ben Strauss’s report at ESPN on what was happening behind the scenes leading up to Russini’s resignation. Second, after Vrabel finally spoke to the media, offering what was a prototypical non-apology apology. And third, when Page Six published even more photos of the two together at an Arizona resort, sans friends and alibis.

It made me think about how Russini and Vrabel made a classic blunder in their response to the initial story. They put all their energy into deflecting the first wave of information without taking into account that there were undoubtedly several more waves to come.

In retrospect, of course there were going to be more photos. And of course it was going to be revealed that their purported friends weren’t materializing. And of course it would leak that Russini hired a crisis manager, and that the Patriots tried to squash the story. And of course The Athletic would investigate the ethical concerns about all this. And of course Vrabel wasn’t going to be able to offer up a deflective statement and go about his business. And of course, even weeks later, this story was going to keep going and evolving and changing.

Not so “laughable,” when you think about it.

That’s all easy to say in retrospect, especially when you’re not one of the people in the eye of that storm. But from where we sit here in the future, you do wonder if Russini and Vrabel could have taken a moment to look at the big picture and how to authentically respond to the totality of their situation, rather than try in vain to squash interest in what was obviously going to be a national controversy.

I’m no crisis expert, but I’ve written about the sports world and the sports media world for quite some time. I’ve seen my fair share of controversies, read my fair share of non-apology apologies, and shaken my head many times as I watched someone try to wriggle out of the mess they made, realizing all too late that a fatal mistake in their initial response was what undid them.

This isn’t to say that Dianna Russini would still have her job if she’d have been more forthcoming in the early days of all this, and there’s no way to know if Vrabel could have avoided much of the scrutiny if he’d initially responded in a more thoughtful way. But there’s a reason “It’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up,” is such a well-worn cliche.

As for what she thought Vrabel should have done, McPherson says the coach should have focused his statement on defending the Patriots organization rather than himself.

@mollybmcphersonThe PR operation behind Mike Vrabel’s statement was laughable. Four stages of damage control. Every one of them failed.♬ original sound – Molly McPherson

“Vrabel’s delivery, looking down, the ums, the fragments, the shame. It was meant to project authenticity while maintaining full deniability,” McPherson said in a video. “There’s so many problems with this PR operation from the beginning. Russini was indignant in her resignation letter, and now Mike Vrabel is saying it’s a private matter. They didn’t coordinate again.

“This is where I would have gone. ‘The photos published last week were real. They reflect a relationship that I should not have been in while leading this team. I’ve apologized to my family, to my wife, to this organization, and everyone affected. I understand the questions about my judgment, and I accept them. I’m here to earn back your trust in how I coach and how I conduct myself. And that starts right now.’

“Because the core problem with Vrabel’s statement; it was designed to protect him. His statement should have been designed to protect the reputation of the entire organization and him as the coach of that organization.”

Wednesday night, Vrabel announced he would miss the final day of the 2026 NFL Draft to attend “counseling” and spend time with his family. That sounds like the first authentic response he’s made to accounting for his role in the situation. Perhaps it’s later than it should have been, and a cynical view would see it as a calculated, but it’s something.

In the days ahead, more details, reactions, and possibly even photos will keep trickling out. And all the while, we’ll look back at the way Russini and Vrabel reacted out of the gate and wonder how they thought that was gonna stick (if they ever really did).