Patriots quarterback Drake Maye addressed the controversy surrounding his head coach Mike Vrabel for the first time on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, photos published by the New York Post of Vrabel holding hands, hugging and spending time with former The Athletic reporter Dianna Russini at a romantic resort in Sedona went viral. While Vrabel and Russini initially dismissed the pictures, Vrabel later acknowledged to the media he had difficult conversations with his family, the team and his players that he described as “positive and productive.” He added, “We believe in order to be successful on and off the field that we have to make good decisions. That includes me, that starts with me. We never want our actions to negatively affect the team. We never want to be the cause of a distraction.”
Following Vrabel’s initial comments, more pictures emerged of him and Russini kissing at a bar in New York six years ago in 2020. Vrabel opted to miss Day 3 of the NFL draft to attend counseling with his family, but returned to the team’s building as of Monday.
Speaking to 7News Boston WHDH, Maye said of the situation, “We’re here for Coach, we love Coach. What he does for us, what he’s done for us this past year, you can’t speak into words. Thankful he’s our head coach. Know he’s dealing with some off the field and out of the coaching world, but we’re here for him and I know he’s gonna come back.”
.@JHall7news asked Drake Maye about the recent scandal involving Mike Vrabel: "We're here for coach, we love coach." pic.twitter.com/ctkPoFftRX
— Marlee Wierda (@marleewierda) April 30, 2026
Maye is the latest Patriots player to address the scandal. Vrabel said he addressed the team about the situation before, but kept the conversation with his players private. Earlier this week, linebacker Robert Spillane and tight end Hunter Henry spoke on the matter, and also extended support for their head coach. "I love Coach, and I'm going to be here to support him as he would be there to support me through anything,” Spillane said.
New England is hoping that this will not become a distraction for them going forward, particularly when the 2026 season arrives in four months. The Patriots are coming off a stellar first season with Vrabel at the helm that saw them reach Super Bowl LX, where they lost to the Seahawks.
Maye in particular thrived under Vrabel’s leadership. In his sophomore season and first under Vrabel, Maye completed 72% of his passes for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns and eight picks. He led the league in completion percentage and passer rating, finished fourth in the league in passing yards, third in passing touchdowns and second in the MVP voting while earning second-team All-Pro honors.
It was already gonna be difficult for Maye and the Patriots to replicate the success they had last season, but this distraction could add to that challenge.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Drake Maye Makes First Comments on Mike Vrabel, Dianna Russini Scandal.
