Over the last few weeks, the New England Patriots have had more going on than most teams. There's already been enough to do and talk about with the 2026 NFL Draft having come and gone, but of course, there has been even more happening around the Patriots' building.
Recently, we saw several images surface of head coach Mike Vrabel and former The Athletic reporter Dianna Russini.
Beyond any speculation or rumors, the other fact of the matter is this: we also found out that the interaction between Vrabel and Russini was under investigation by her former employer.
Since then, Patriots fans have only really heard from Vrabel, himself, after the head coach provided a statement and spoke briefly to media. That changed, this week, as Patriots reporter Carlos Lopez caught up with quarterback Drake Maye.
Patriots players open up on their support of head coach Mike Vrabel
When asked about the situation regarding Vrabel, Maye kept it straightforward and supportive, as you might expect.
“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. And I know he’s dealing with some stuff off the field, and out of the coaching world, but we’re here for him and I know he’s gonna come back," Maye told Lopez.
Maye's comments came across genuine and heartfelt, and quite frankly, by being asked to respond to Vrabel's situation is a little unfair. He handled it with class and, above all else, made it clear that he had his coach's back despite being in a difficult spot.
Along with Maye, we heard from linebacker Robert Spillane, courtesy of a Patriots press conference:
“I think everyone’s personal relationship with Coach is their personal relationship with Coach… I love Coach and I’m gonna be here to support him, as he would be there to support me through anything… I’m trying to do that as best as I can.”
Both Spillane and Maye said exactly what Patriots fans would expect them to say during a difficult time.
Going forward, I would anticipate all players to respond in similar fashion, which would beg the question: are reporters still going to continue asking them the same questions? At this stage, either players are going to be wise enough to respond in the same way or they have been coached to respond in a similar fashion.
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