“Last Men Standing” podcast host Tony Farmer has dragged Dianna Russini and New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel all over again.
In a post on X, Farmer pointed to the timing of Russini’s March 2020 report about Tom Brady and the Tennessee Titans. He argued that the timing deserves more attention.
Thanks for the submission!
“I really feel bad for the Tennessee Titans beat writers who, for years, didn’t know they were up against a stacked deck and were beaten to the punch regularly on Titans stories by Dianna Russini,” Farmer wrote. “The Tom Brady – Titans story she broke was 4 days after the NYC bar photos were taken!”
•
The issue goes back to March 2020, when Brady was preparing to leave the New England Patriots and enter free agency. Tennessee was widely viewed as a possible destination for Brady because of his friendship with Mike Vrabel, who was then the Titans’ head coach.
Looking to predict NFL playoff Scenarios? Try our NFL Playoff Predictor for real-time simulations and stay ahead of the game!
On March 15, 2020, Russini reported for ESPN that the Titans were not interested in Brady and were instead focused on keeping quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Later that day, the Titans and Tannehill agreed to a four-year contract extension worth up to $118 million.
Six years later, Page Six published photos on April 23 that showed Mike Vrabel and Russini together at the Tribeca Tavern in New York City. The photos were reportedly taken during the early morning hours of March 11, 2020 i.e. four days before Russini’s Brady-Titans report.
Farmer argued that the issue is not simply about Mike Vrabel and Russini’s personal lives. He said the situation could also raise questions about the working environment for reporters covering the Titans.
“Good luck getting a raise or promotion in that environment,” Farmer wrote. “People who say this is just a personal issue between two people are tone deaf and don’t understand the layers of impact this secret friendship had on others.”
Farmer has repeatedly questioned the nature of Mike Vrabel and Russini’s relationship and whether it affected her reporting.
Earlier on Saturday, he wrote about Russini’s role as a Coach of the Year voter and Vrabel’s recognition as the 2025 Coach of the Year.
“COTY voter (Dianna Russini) and the 2025 COTY (Mike Vrabel) – we were told them being too close was laughable and not worthy of future comment,” Farmer wrote.
He also claimed that people who raised questions about the relationship were ignored or criticized.
“Some of us were threatened and doxxed. Crissy Froyd lost her job for talking about it,” Farmer added. “Now we’re being told to ‘get over it’ before any basic questions have been answered? No thanks. Buckle up, NFL.”
In a separate tweet from Saturday, Farmer also listed several questions he believes remain unanswered.
He claimed ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter and The Athletic’s Mike Silver have not publicly discussed Russini since the Sedona photos came to light.
He also questioned the status of an investigation by The Athletic and whether Russini remains an Associated Press awards voter.
“Stonewalling only works on a complacent audience,” Farmer wrote. “This story isn’t going away because you continue to talk about and spread the word.”
The controversy started in April 2026 after Page Six published photos of Mike Vrabel and Russini together at the Ambiente resort in Sedona, Arizona. Images captured them on the rooftop of a bungalow holding hands, hugging and interlacing their fingers.
In mid-April, Russini resigned from the publication.
There was also renewed attention on a June 2021 Tennessee boat outing involving Vrabel and Russini. The pictures came to light on May 6 via TMZ Sports and Page Six.
The outing occurred around the time Russini reported on the Titans’ acquisition of wide receiver Julio Jones.
Notably, both Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini are married to other people.
Russini married corporate executive Kevin Goldschmidt in September 2020. The couple shares two sons, born in 2021 and 2022.
Meanwhile, Vrabel married Jennifer “Jen” Vrabel, in 1999. They met while both were student-athletes at Ohio State University and have two sons.
Edited by Oindrila Chowdhury
