Mike Vrabel manages to say nothing at all during 7-minute Dianna Russini press conference

Mike Vrabel apparently didn’t get the memo that his public relations strategy surrounding his apparent affair with NFL reporter Dianna Russini was not doing him any favors.

On Thursday night, less than an hour before the first round of the NFL Draft, Vrabel held a seven-minute press conference to address new photos published earlier in the day showing himself and Russini kissing at a bar in March 2020. Vrabel ran largely the same playbook as he did during his Tuesday press conference, failing to directly address his relationship with Russini and instead falling back on platitudes about doing what is right for his family and the New England Patriots organization.

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“I take accountability for my actions and the actions that caused a distraction to the people I care most about: my family, this football team, the organization, and our fans,” Vrabel said in his opening statement. “My previous actions don’t meet the standard that I hold myself to. They don’t. And what I believe is best for the two most important things in my life, my family and this football team, is for us to take the necessary steps to work together and to give them what I told them I’d give them, which is the best version of me. And that’s what we’re going to do. And that’s going to start. That has started. That’ll continue this weekend, and it’ll continue for however long it takes for me to give them, and to complete that promise of giving them the best version of me possible. And that’s what’s going to happen and that’s what’s been happening.”

Talk about saying a lot without saying anything at all.

After about 90 more seconds of largely the same types of statements, bringing his opening comments to about three minutes, Vrabel finally opened it up to questions from reporters. The first question asked why Vrabel would be stepping away on Saturday, when the NFL Draft is still ongoing.

“When you prioritize your family first and your job, that’s what’s required,” Vrabel answered. “And that’s what was necessary. I got a lot of support from everybody involved and so that’s what I was able to do, willingly, and I want to do that. And that’s important to me. But there’s also a balance there. When my family needs me, I’ll be there. And I know that there’s a way to give them the best version of me and also provide and get what I need for my family, and also for this football team.”

After a couple more minutes talking about being a family man, a reporter finally asked the money question.

“Mike can you explain how over the last two-and-a-half weeks, we go from your original statement about any insinuation that the photos were anything other than innocent was ‘laughable,’ to your comments Tuesday, to now deciding to go to counseling, what is that process?” a reporter asked.

“Well, that’s a private and personal matter,” Vrabel deflected. “I don’t think that those comments, I think that that was a, uh, always is an attempt to protect your family. I would never be dismissive. But, I think my family and this football team are the most important thing, and that’s what I plan to do. And I’m excited about the challenge with both of those things.”

That was it. That was Mike Vrabel’s press conference about 40 minutes prior to the first round of the NFL Draft. Not once did he directly address Russini or explain why he initially denied any improper relationship. Not once did he detail why he was stepping away from the Draft on Saturday outside of generalities about doing what was right for his family. Not once did he own up to any of what has become abundantly apparent to any reasonable onlooker over the past two-and-a-half weeks.

Vrabel had one final opportunity to own this situation, accept he’s at fault, apologize for lying, and begin to rebuild his image. Instead, he continued to dodge and deflect.

It begs the question, what was the point of holding this press conference in the first place? Vrabel didn’t materially change his stance from Tuesday, before the 2020 photos of him and Russini kissing at a bar were released.

Now he looks even worse, all the while everyone yells “hypocrite” at the guy who almost assuredly cheated on his wife but continues to use his family as a shield. This saga will be taught in communications classes for years as a masterclass in how not to handle a PR crisis.