For about half a year, former The Athletic NFL reporter Dianna Russini has been away from football reporting. Her tenure at The Athletic came to an abrupt end following her reported involvement with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel. Now, however, Russini is all set to make her return to football reporting with The Russini Report. Ahead of its premiere, the 43-year-old has shared an emotional note.

“I missed football so much, and I’m just so grateful to be back doing what I love,” wrote Russini in her Instagram story. The Russini Report premieres today at noon ET. Thank you for being here with me for this next chapter.”

The Russini Report is a weekly, one-hour NFL show produced in partnership with BetUS, an offshore sportsbook. It premieres Wednesday, November 11 at noon ET and will stream live on BetUS TV’s website and its X account. That said, while the show is built around NFL news, matchup analysis, injuries, breaking stories, and opinions, Russini will also write an accompanying column.

Her first announced guests include Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells and sports-radio personality Damon Amendolara.

“I’ve spent 20 years chasing the stories everyone’s talking about. Now I get to tell them my way,” said Russini in a video announcing her show. “Welcome to The Russini Report. Every week I’ll bring you what I’m hearing around the league, why it matters and what happens next. I’ll have guests. I’m going to have opinions. And I’m going to have a lot of fun.”

At the same time, Dianna Russini will also be a featured contributor to Jon “Stugotz” Weiner’s Nobody’s Safe podcast. The update around Russini’s return gained traction after she officially resigned from her post at The Athletic.

The Dianna Russini-Mike Vrabel controversy began in April this year, when Page Six published photographs of the two together at a resort in Arizona. The photos showed them holding hands, hugging, and spending time together poolside. At that time, however, both were married to other people.

Russini and Vrabel denied that the images represented an inappropriate relationship, with Russini saying they were part of a larger group and Vrabel calling suggestions of wrongdoing “laughable.” Things escalated when additional photos later emerged from a New York City bar in 2020, including one that appeared to show them kissing. Vrabel was the Tennessee Titans’ head coach at that time.

Vrabel subsequently said the situation had led to “difficult conversations” with his family, staff, and players and stepped away from the Patriots during the 2026 NFL Draft to seek counseling. The NFL itself said it was not investigating Vrabel.

Meanwhile, the bigger professional issue was Russini’s journalism ethics and disclosure obligations, rather than whether a relationship could be definitely established. Subsequently, Russini resigned from The Athletic while the company was investigating her conduct. In September, The Athletic released its findings after reviewing 903 articles, 77 videos, and 204 podcast episodes.

The investigation said it could not determine the exact nature of Russini and Vrabel’s relationship and did not find clear evidence that the relationship influenced her reporting, but concluded that the relationship itself violated The Athletic’s standards because it should have been disclosed, regardless of whether it was romantic.

Now, after more than six months away from the NFL reporting scene, Russini is ready to turn the page with The Russini Report. While her return comes with plenty of questions, particularly about her access and credibility within the league, she will have an opportunity to rebuild her reputation and show that she can still bring the reporting and insight that made her one of the NFL’s prominent insiders.