The inescapable drama involving Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini unfortunately continues after the NFL Draft, dominating Patriots news for more than a month at this point. The unfortunate reality is that it's not going away any time soon, especially for those who already dislike the Patriots, and it's only being pushed further by conspiracy theories spread by gossip outlets.
The latest comes from the Daily Mail, who cite an NFL insider claiming that Robert Kraft is already working on a backup plan if things get even worse with Vrabel this offseason, going as far as claiming he has his eyes set on a specific replacement if push comes to shove and he has to fire Vrabel.
Although that doesn't appear to be in the cards any time soon, as the insider also states, in the eyes of some, it's not something that can be completely ruled out.
The hope, of course, is that it won't happen and we can soon focus on the task at hand: the 2026 NFL season. However, the latest rumors about who Kraft might be eyeing for the job are going to make some heads roll in New England, and that's the absolute last thing fans need right now.
NFL source alleges that Robert Kraft is putting together a worst-case scenario replacement plan for Mike Vrabel
According to the Daily Mail, an insider revealed that while Kraft is "loyal" to Vrabel and has no plans to fire him, they don't want to go into a potential situation blind and are already looking for his replacement.
And who might that be? Mike Tomlin, the longtime head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who abruptly left the organization earlier this offseason.
“The Krafts are extremely loyal and have no intention of firing Mike, nor do they want to see him quit over all this drama.
But if these upcoming few months go haywire, and if they are put in a situation of no return, either with the team not doing well or the drama of Mike’s family issues taking over and forcing a decision on Mike’s coaching future, the one person that they would seek to replace him would be Mike Tomlin.”
It's fair to argue that there are far, far worse options than Tomlin for Kraft to consider, particularly since his tenure with the Steelers was beyond impressive and culminated in a Super Bowl win over the Cardinals.
However, he was in the hot seat in Pittsburgh heading into the offseason, with many rumors suggesting they were set to move on from him, as his struggles to make the playoffs or succeed in the postseason were a major problem. But he beat them to the punch and resigned instead.
That doesn't mean he wouldn't be successful in New England, as we've seen with other head coaches who have gone from one team to another. But it's difficult to imagine fans being excited about Tomlin's arrival, especially given that it would mean Drake Maye would already be on his third head coach.
No matter what, it would be a chaotic situation, likely to elicit varied reactions from the fans, none of which would be too good. The good thing is that the Vrabel situation isn't deterring Kraft from his support, and the idea of replacing him doesn't seem too serious at this point.
It would be good if that could remain the case moving forward, and fans don't have to deal with another head coach search, or the 2026 season will look far more bleak than anyone was anticipating.
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