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Super Bowl champion LeSean McCoy took to the defense of New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and New York Times/The Athletic NFL reporter Dianna Russini.
Photos originally published by the New York Post’s Page Six showed the coach and journalist holding hands, hugging and sitting in a pool in bathing suits at a resort bungalow in Sedona, Arizona. While a lot of people have been highly critical of Vrabel and Russini, McCoy took no issue with it.
“I like Mike, I love Mike. I mind my business. They work together,” McCoy told TMZ Sports.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back LeSean McCoy runs with the football against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on Feb. 7, 2021. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)
“Everybody makes something big out of everything. He’s a big-time coach, he’s a big-time player. He was just in the Super Bowl, they got something to talk about. That’s what happened.”
“I ain’t see nothing wrong with it.”
Both Vrabel and Russini are married, and both denied any wrongdoing. Vrabel married his wife, Jen, in 1999, and they have two sons together. The 50-year-old coach said the interaction was completely innocent.
“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,” Vrabel told the New York Post. “This doesn’t deserve any further response.”
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New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel watches during the first half of the AFC Championship NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Russini, who married her husband Kevin Goldschmidt in 2020 and they have two sons together, said the photos misrepresented what actually occurred.
“The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day. Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues,” Russini told the New York Post.
Vrabel took the Patriots to the Super Bowl in his first season as the Patriots head coach and won NFL Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.
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Dianna Russini attends the 2026 Fanatics Super Bowl Party at Pier 48 in San Francisco, California, on Feb. 7, 2026. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
Russini, 43, joined the The Athletic in 2023, leaving ESPN after over eight years.
McCoy played 12 seasons in the NFL. He spent six with the Philadelphia Eagles, four seasons with the Buffalo Bills, one with the Kansas City Chiefs, and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The 37-year-old won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs in 2019 and the Buccaneers in 2020. In 170 games, McCoy ran for 11,102 yards with 73 touchdowns, while catching 518 passes for 3,898 yards and 16 touchdowns.
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