The NFL is about to test the limits of its own brand of humor. With the 2026 schedule dropping Thursday night, teams are gearing up for their annual tradition of roasting each other in release videos. But this year, the league is letting the jokes fly—even if they target one of its own head coaches and a former reporter caught in a messy personal scandal.
That's right: the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini story is fair game. And the NFL isn't stepping in to stop it.
The controversy erupted in April when Page Six published photos of New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and former Athletic reporter Dianna Russini holding hands at an Arizona hotel. Weeks later, more images surfaced from March 2020 showing the pair at a bar, followed by TMZ's report that the two had rented a boat together in Tennessee in June 2021—while Russini was pregnant with her first child. The boat rental, complete with signed waivers and a cautious vibe, added fuel to the fire. According to TMZ, both were careful about photos, with Vrabel allegedly asking that no images be posted publicly.
Despite the controversy, the NFL is taking a surprisingly relaxed stance. According to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, the league will not review teams' schedule release videos for content related to Vrabel and Russini. Clubs have full control over their memes and videos, from start to finish. That means the social media wags at all 32 teams are free to mock the Patriots and their head coach if they choose.
“The annual schedule release is the one day of the year when NFL teams are unofficially allowed to mock each other. With TMZ Sports and the New York Post still on the warpath, you’d think the league would step in to try to declare the Vrabel scandal off-limits. Right? Wrong,” McCarthy wrote. “The NFL is taking the opposite approach.”
It's a bold strategy, one that could either backfire or reinforce the league's reputation for letting teams police themselves. But there's a bigger question here: will Vrabel still be on the sideline when the season kicks off?
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has already made it clear that Vrabel won't be investigated under the league's personal conduct policy. The Patriots, meanwhile, have publicly backed their coach. In a statement released before the draft, the team said: “The New England Patriots fully support Mike Vrabel’s decision to prioritize his family first, as well as his own well-being. Mike has been open with us about his commitment to being the best version of himself for his family, this team and our fans, and we respect the steps he is taking to follow through on that commitment.”
So unless something drastic changes, Vrabel is expected to coach this season. But the lingering questions about his personal life—and the league's willingness to let teams poke fun at it—add a layer of unpredictability to an already volatile situation. Some observers have compared the handling of this scandal to the blurred lines between journalists and personal lives in sports media.
As the schedule release approaches, all eyes will be on which team—if any—decides to take a shot at Vrabel. The Patriots themselves might be bracing for it. After all, when you're the team at the center of a scandal, you become an easy target. And with the NFL giving the green light, the jokes are coming. The only question is: how will Vrabel handle it?
