Dianna Russini’s Advisers Want Her To Leave NFL Insider Role As Mike Vrabel Scandal Changes Her Career Path

Dianna Russini advised to pursue TV over NFL reporting© Getty via AFP

Dianna Russini's advisers want her to stop chasing scoops and start offering opinions. Page Six reported that people close to the former Athletic reporter see a commentator role as the smarter way back into NFL media after the Mike Vrabel scandal. Russini resigned in April after photos of her and the Patriots coach at a Sedona resort surfaced. She has since returned with a weekly BetUS show called The Russini Report. The advice, if accurate, explains why her comeback looks different from the job that once made her one of the league's most recognized insiders.

Dianna Russini's advisers push her away from the NFL insider role

A source told Page Six that advisers close to Russini saw a commentator job as “a smarter long-term and short-term decision” than coming back as an insider. The same source said the goal was a role where she would earn respect.

The reasoning makes sense. Insiders trade on access and trust, and hers took a hit. The Athletic's review largely cleared her of biased coverage, yet it said she should have disclosed her relationship with Vrabel so editors could decide which stories she worked on. It also called some of her glowing Vrabel passages awkward in hindsight. She resigned in April, after the outlet opened its investigation, and denied any inappropriate conduct in her letter.

The source was blunter in another line, saying she has to go back “as a ‘voice' more than an insider.”

The BetUS show and a podcast role show how the plan is taking shape

Russini sat out seven months before the BetUS launch. The sportsbook promotes The Russini Report as a live weekly hour on the NFL. She also took on NFL analysis for “Nobody's Safe,” the podcast with Jon Weiner, better known as Stugotz.

The split is not clean, though. Her BetUS role still includes reporting and insider information, so she has not fully left the beat. In the debut show she covered the trade deadline and Lamar Jackson's contract. She never addressed why she left The Athletic. What she did say was that the best part of this situation has been “the loyalty the NFL has shown me.”

Barrett Media columnist John Mamola sees room for her. He said Russini does not have to race Adam Schefter or Ian Rapoport for breaking news, and few women in NFL media combine a big platform with real league knowledge.

A gambling brand now pays for her NFL voice, and that adds its own wrinkle for a reporter trying to rebuild trust.