New pictures surfaced showing New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and former The Athletic NFL insider Dianna Russini together. They were taken six years ago, before anybody knew the two had something going on.

According to Page Six, the pictures were taken at New York City’s Tribeca Tavern on March 11, 2020, when Vrabel was still the Titans’ coach.

Per the story, Page Six contacted Vrabel and Russini on Wednesday to request comment on the old pictures, but neither responded. Vrabel, however, announced a few hours later that he would be skipping the third day of the NFL draft to enter counseling.

Those pictures are now being questioned about what was going on at the time in relation to Dianna Russini’s reporting.

New Theory Emerges for Dianna Russini Following Release of 2020 Pictures

The controversy surrounding New England Patriots HC Mike Vrabel and former reporter Dianna Russini escalated further last week. The New York Post’s Page Six published Vrabel and Russini’s images on April 7. They were pictured at the Ambiente Sedona resort in Sedona, Arizona.

Now it has gone from there to them being seen at a bar in New York City.

X account @Tonysmarkettips thinks these pictures are even more suspicious when you bring up Russini’s reporting at the time. It concerns Steve Levy’s comment on October 25, 2020.

At the time, he pointed out Samantha Ponder making a comment during Sunday NFL Countdown about sideline reporters securing impossible interviews with NFL coaches. It was because of the restrictions that were in place during the pandemic.

Steve Levy said, “Good job @sam_ponder pointing out how near impossible it is in 2020 to get a pregame interview with an NFL head coach and @diannaESPN gets both Tomlin and Vrabel…”

Dianna Russini and Vrabel were kissing in a New York City bar seven months prior to this interview.

“The larger implication here though, is journalism ethics and if people at ESPN were aware that Vrabel and Russini were intimate. If folks at ESPN were aware of the affair with their newlywed employee, and kept quiet because they were benefiting from it, that might explain ESPN’s bizarre behavior since this scandal broke.”

Six years ago, when these pictures were reportedly taken, the world was on the verge of shutting down due to COVID-19. Six weeks later, Vrabel was with his family, running Tennessee’s draft from home.

Her interview with Vrabel speaks more to their close relationship and to how long they have been working together. We may never know the full scope of what they were doing behind the scenes, but everything has been brought into question as a result.

Vrabel may be fine, but Russini’s career is likely over.