She’s throwing a Hail Mary.
Dianna Russini has enlisted veteran crisis publicist Melissa Nathan to navigate past the Mike Vrabel scandal, a source told Page Six Thursday.
The development comes as the former Athletic reporter prepares a return to work following her abrupt resignation from the outlet in April due to the controversy involving the New England Patriots head coach.
The insider told Page Six that while the parties involved have moved on, the mainstream media hasn’t — and it was time for Russini to seek some outside help to revamp her career.
The decision to team up with Nathan is interesting — not only does she have experience putting out fires for celebrities like Logan Paul, Johnny Depp and Justin Baldoni, but she has also found herself in the headlines as of late.
Nathan is currently in litigation with rival publicist Stephanie Jones over allegations that she orchestrated online smear campaigns during Baldoni and Blake Lively’s “It Ends With Us” saga. Nathan has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Russini, who is represented by CAA, left her job after an internal investigation was launched into her relationship with Vrabel.
The Athletic ultimately determined her personal connection to the Super Bowl-winning linebacker violated its newsroom standards because it wasn’t disclosed, but her reporting had not been compromised.
In April, Page Six published images of Russini and the New England Patriots head coach holding hands at a resort in Arizona in late March.
Russini and Vrabel both downplayed the pictures at the time, with the coach calling it a “completely innocent interaction,” while adding that “any suggestion otherwise is laughable.”
Since then, several other instances of the two together surfaced, including a cozy outing at a New York City bar in March 2020, where a source claimed to see them kissing.
“They were kissing and they were all over each other,” an eyewitness told Page Six.
Russini, 43, and Vrabel, 51, are both married to other people.
Vrabel later took accountability for his actions and the distractions he caused, and left the Patriots during the 2026 NFL Draft to seek counseling.
Russini has yet to directly address the ordeal in public, but has continued to take the brunt of it — notably being blamed for the Patriots’ slow start to the season fresh off a Super Bowl appearance.
Page Six was told last month that Russini was weighing several options for her next gig, and a decision would not come prior to Week 1 of the NFL season.
Nearly five weeks later, her future remains unclear, but not due to a lack of interest, the source said.
Page Six reached out to Russini and Nathan for comment.
The post NFL Insider Dianna Russini makes bold career move as she eyes comeback after Mike Vrabel scandal appeared first on Page Six.
