Football fans and team executives alike descended on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this week for the start of the NFL draft, one of the most highly anticipated weekends on the league’s calendar. But even as the assembled crowd waited to see where college football’s brightest stars would land, an off-the-field story line was top of mind for even the most casual follower of the NFL.

Just weeks ahead of the draft, the league found itself at the center of scandal as a tabloid published photos of New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, fresh off a Super Bowl appearance, in close quarters with Dianna Russini, The Athletic’s top NFL insider. The pair, who are both married to other people, downplayed the suggestive implications of the photos and appeared poised to move past the incident. But public attention on the story grew, culminating in Russini’s decision to leave her position at The Athletic and Vrabel taking on a less prominent role at his team’s draft activities. Here’s what we know about football’s most talked-about story.

. How did this all start?

Like many a viral scandal, the story first broke in the New York Post’s “Page Six,” which published a series of photos showing Vrabel and Russini together at a luxury resort in Sedona, Arizona.

The images, which appear to have been taken at a distance, show the pair in the not-so-work-friendly position of holding hands with their fingers intertwined and embracing at one of the rooftop bungalows at the luxe Ambiente Sedona resort on March 28. Additional photos published by the Post show Vrabel and Russini lounging side by side in a pool and a hot tub.

New England Patriots’ Mike Vrabel and top NY Times NFL reporter Dianna Russini hold hands and hug at luxury hotel https://t.co/BpPD0ScwBQ pic.twitter.com/xrdqqmgDUC— Page Six (@PageSix) April 7, 2026

New England Patriots’ Mike Vrabel and top NY Times NFL reporter Dianna Russini hold hands and hug at luxury hotel https://t.co/BpPD0ScwBQ pic.twitter.com/xrdqqmgDUC

Both Russini and Vrabel were likely in Arizona for work. The NFL’s Annual League Meeting was held for three days in Phoenix beginning March 29. Russini contributed to an Athletic piece detailing some of the takeaways from the meeting. Per the Post, Vrabel attended a scouting event at Arizona State University in Tempe on March 27. The New England Patriots coach can also be seen in the front row of the annual group photo taken of all the league’s coaches from the yearly meeting.

Annual NFL head coach photo from the league meeting in Phoenix:Cc: @BarstoolBigCat📷 Mark Peterman/AP pic.twitter.com/2MoRnJAIbf— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 30, 2026

Annual NFL head coach photo from the league meeting in Phoenix:Cc: @BarstoolBigCat📷 Mark Peterman/AP pic.twitter.com/2MoRnJAIbf

The scandal expanded this week after the Post followed up with additional photos from six years prior, showing the pair in an even more questionable light. On Thursday, the first day of the draft, the Post published photos of Vrabel and Russini at the Tribeca Tavern in March 2020. They can be seen sitting closely together at the bar with Vrabel appearing to lean in for a kiss in one photo.

Dianna Russini and married Mike Vrabel caught kissing at NYC bar in bombshell new photos — taken 6 years before scandal https://t.co/8LYRy8oyvQ pic.twitter.com/v5431eXWoV— Page Six (@PageSix) April 23, 2026

Dianna Russini and married Mike Vrabel caught kissing at NYC bar in bombshell new photos — taken 6 years before scandal https://t.co/8LYRy8oyvQ pic.twitter.com/v5431eXWoV

Russini has been married to Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt since 2020, and they........

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