When the Mike Vrabel – Diana Russini controversy broke out, the New England Patriots head coach skipped Day 3 of the 2026 NFL draft to have “difficult conversations” with his family and go for counselling. So when the Pats opened their OTAs on May 27th, the press conference was his first time addressing the media since that pre-draft interview where he was asked if he could miss more time in the future.

“I can’t tell you anything other than I’m gonna be out there today in full force,” Vrabel said in his presser. “I mean that because who knows what’s gonna come up. Anything can happen, so I’m gonna focus on today.”

When Vrabel returned to Foxborough after missing Day 3 of the draft, he took it upon himself to address the situation with his team. The locker room unified behind him, and the league handed the Patriots a Super Bowl rematch for a season opener.

In the same OTA presser, reporters also asked Mike Vrabel about balancing family and football. Vrabel noted that his process has been going “really good” and opened up about his support system.

“I appreciate [that] my family is great,” Vrabel said. “I love Jen, I love the boys. I love my personal friends.”

His wife, Jen Vrabel, and his two sons, Tyler and Carter, have become the grounding force for Mike Vrabel as he navigates the off-field narratives. And when the conversation turned to balancing the outside distraction with running a team, Vrabel only doubled down on what’s driving him.

“And again, we all have to deal with things outside of here,” Vrabel noted. “My focus, and obviously the excitement that I have for coaching, is what is most important right now. And this is a great opportunity this spring.”

While that focus does help drown distractions, Vrabel is also using that to structure the OTAs with a roster leaning heavily on newcomers.

Mike Vrabel’s plans for tackling the OTAs

“The unique thing about the players is there’s 44 new players to our spring football,” Vrabel said. “What you’ll see today is not necessarily what you guys will see at training camp. We have certain rules, we have specific rules. They don’t have pads on, they just have a helmet. So again, we call it a passing camp.”

Mike Vrabel is teaching defensive linemen to rush and then stop until the ball is thrown. The task for the offensive linemen is to punch and stay inside-out. As for the defensive backs, Vrabel notes that they’ll just have to avoid contact until the pads go on. And sitting in late May, Vrabel is only thinking about teaching his system to the rookies and new faces.

Vrabel won’t run the football without pads because he doesn’t “think that’s very productive.” Instead, he’s jogging through runs and installing tempo shifts for the season.

“The other thing I try to explain to them is that we’re going to need to have different tempos of practice throughout the season,” Vrabel said. “We play on Thursdays. Not going to be much practice from a Sunday to a Thursday. We have two Thursday games. And so as the season wears on, we’re going to need different tempos.”

The Patriots have one Thursday road game against the Chicago Bears (Week 7) and a home game against the Minnesota Vikings (Week 14). Coming off a Sunday showdown and getting ready for Thursday twice in a season will likely put a lot of pressure on the roster, and Vrabel is already preparing for that.

The Dianna Russini controversy won’t define Mike Vrabel’s 2026 season, even though it has been extensively talked about all offseason. He’s coaching today, teaching his system’s efficiency, and keeping family first. As for the OTAs, they’ll look like exactly what they are: spring football, not training camp. Beyond this, the results start forming from their Week 1 Super Bowl rematch and beyond.