Why Dianna Russini's NFL Comeback Has Renewed Questions About Mike Vrabel's Award Win

Dianna Russini's return has renewed questions surrounding Mike Vrabel's Coach of the Year win© Image via: X/@NFL_DovKleiman

Seven months is a long time to wait for a simple answer. Podcaster Tony Farmer knows that better than most. He has asked the Associated Press about Dianna Russini's Coach of the Year ballot again and again, and he says nobody will talk. Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots won the 2025 award, and Russini sat among the 50 voters. The AP shared ballots for 2024 but kept 2025 private. Now, with Russini back on air, the questions have grown louder. So has the quiet around them. Here is exactly where it stands today.

Why The Associated Press Ballot Secrecy Around Mike Vrabel's Coach Of The Year Win Matters

Mike Vrabel did not squeak past anyone. He collected 302 points and 19 first-place votes, finishing ahead of Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald. His team jumped from 4-13 to 14-3 and reached Super Bowl LX. On the field, the case was strong.

Off the field, the issue is trust. Because the AP published individual ballots for 2024, readers expected the same for 2025. Farmer wants to know why the practice stopped. "Why is everyone so quiet on this issue?" he wrote on X. "The parties involved won't talk about it and neither will the majority of the media. What is going on? Why won't the AP answer basic questions?"

He also pointed to a specific worry. "The Associated Press will not release its ballots so we can see if the woman on the left voted for the man on the right for Coach of the Year, and see who she voted for in slots 2-5. If Russini left Ben Johnson off her ballot like she did the prior year [Assistant COTY] when he received 29 1st-place votes, then that would be really tough to explain," Farmer wrote.

JUST IN: Dianna Russini was asked if she has any regrets about her previous actions: “If I had to do everything all over again, I wouldn't change a thing.” https://t.co/d45Oo3WXYx

— Football Crave (@FootballCravee) November 12, 2026

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported that two emails to the AP also went unanswered. No one has shown that a single vote changed the result.

What Dianna Russini's Return With The Russini Report Means For The Questions Still Unanswered

Russini resigned from The Athletic after the alleged relationship with Vrabel became public. On Nov. 11, she launched The Russini Report on BetUS TV, airing Wednesdays at noon ET. Bill Parcells joined as her first guest. She also appears on the Nobody's Safe podcast with Jon Weiner.

Her comeback does not answer the central question. Is she still an AP voter? Did she vote for Vrabel? The AP could settle both with a short statement about its own process.

Until it does, the gap will keep growing. Fans can handle a hard truth, but they struggle with silence. A clear reply from the AP would end the speculation in one day.