And now, it's become a football problem.

Amid new revelations, the walls are closing in upon Patriots' coach Mike Vrabel.

Just when I believed I had seen and experienced everything possible regarding past or present coverage of an NFL team ... well, something new and unique was brought to light late Wednesday night.

ESPN reporter Mike Reiss was the first to announce that Patriots' coach Mike Vrabel would not be in Foxboro for the third day of this year's NFL Draft, which is Saturday. Vrabel will, instead, be participating in counseling on that day -- presumably to address issues that have arisen on the home front from the controversy over the suspected nature of his relationship with former NFL reporter Dianna Russini of The Athletic and The New York Times.

As far as I can tell, this is unprecedented -- especially for a head coach whose team has eight of its 11 selections on the final day. The Patriots are scheduled to have two fourth-round picks (125 and 131), one in the fifth round (171), four in the sixth (191, 198, 202, 212) and one in the seventh (247). Traditionally, the fourth- and fifth-round picks are usually seen as potential starters or players that can be quickly developed into significant roles, while anything below is either for depth-building or draft capital to be used to improve future drafts. And, of course, there's always that one guy that sneaks through the haze of anonymity to accomplish something, as did a certain skinny QB from Michigan at the No. 199 slot in 2000.

For a coach entering just his second year at the helm, whose team wildly overachieved last year, it almost seems like heresy that Vrabel would not be present to guide the strategies that will be employed by the team's draft guru, Eliot Wolf. I don't doubt that they've long-since established their gameplan for the draft, which begins later tonight in Pittsburgh, and reportedly Vrabel will find a way to remain in touch with the braintrust back in Foxboro even as he and his family plan to be out-of-state at the time.

Once again, it's a very bad look -- for Vrabel as well as for the Patriots as a whole. And it's getting worse by the minute.

It is now clear to all -- even those like me that held out a shred of hope that the story of the hookup between Vrabel and Russini at a posh and exclusive Arizona resort was more innocent than it looked -- that both parties lied about its nature in their individual statements and actions initially upon the publication of damning photographs of their meeting in the New York Post.

Once claimed to be a harmless interaction between two old friends from different spheres of the NFL world, it's become very hard to believe it was anything less than a tryst between two married people -- one of whom is suspected of violating journalism ethics, the other exhibiting very poor judgment both personally and professionally.

Don't get me wrong. I am a big fan of counseling. I've taken advantage of it in the past, and I guarantee that it set me on a far less self-destructive path at a time in my life when I needed to seriously assess and address issues I was experiencing. It didn't take long, but it was effective -- and the last 40 years of my life have been much better because of it.

If Vrabel indeed was having an illicit affair with Russini, and he honestly wants to save his marriage, he's absolutely doing the right thing. But the timing is just terrible -- and now, what I assumed had nothing to do with the football operation of the New England Patriots has everything to do with it.

Russini has cultivated an image.

I have tried my level best not to be judgmental toward either party involved in this peccadillo. It has been more difficult in regard to Ms. Russini, I suspect, because it appears the photographs were taken by a private investigator, presumably hired by her husband in search of proof of her infidelity. Where there's smoke, there's usually fire -- and it's been suggested in more than a few places, including the halls of The New York Times, that her past behavior was now worthy of investigation. That led almost immediately to her resignation from The Athletic -- probably just a few short steps ahead of a pink slip.

I haven't wanted to either accuse or absolve Vrabel of wrongdoing, either. Because I wasn't there and had no personal knowledge of what transpired, I held out the possibility that an innocent friendship was a possibility. After all, I have taken married female friends to dinners without taking them to hotel rooms afterward. But then again, I'm not a dynamic pro football coach with a seven-figure salary that might feel a little empowered to take personal risks when opportunity presents itself.

And today, something old, something new and maybe even something a little blue -- the New York Post, always eager to target the Patriots, has come up with photos from 2020 that appear to show Vrabel (then the coach of the Tennessee Titans) and Russini meeting at a New York City bar. In one of the photos, Vrabel appears to be kissing Russini, who was working for ESPN at the time. Vrabel and his wife, Jen, have been married for 26 years and have two boys. Russini, who was working for ESPN at the time of this meeting, married her current husband, Kevin Goldschmidt, that same year.

Once again, context is totally lacking. But now, this appears to be a long-term clandestine relationship, and it has finally come unraveled at breakneck speed.

It was a mess at the beginning and now it's more of a mess, fueled by the salacious fervor of both traditional media and two-bit bloggers on social media in what's becoming a characteristic rush to judgment in the era of the 24-hour news cycle. And as I said, it has finally come home to roost in the Patriots' football operation, interfering in one of the more important days of the offseason schedule.

Again, I'm not privy to any private discussions. I have no idea what ultimatums were issued to pull Vrabel away from the third day of the draft. But it has happened, and nobody knows what state of mind he will be in as the offseason workouts continue and the minicamps and organized team activities follow. 

Lawyers helped Kraft wave farewell to his woes.

These things have a way of snowballing out of control. The Patriots have mostly avoided that through most of their controversies of the last quarter-century because the culture in place was entrenched and totally hostile to media influence or attacks from outside the building. Even when the team owner, Robert Kraft, was accused of partaking in the services of prostitutes at a Jupiter, Fla., strip-mall massage parlor called the "Orchids of Asia," the controversy all went away with the help of outstanding legal maneuvering. It surely proved what Mel Brooks said a long time ago ... "It's good to be the king!"

Besides, who was going to fire the owner, anyway?

Vrabel's influence over the culture is newer, and its foundation is less stable. Although it seemed off to a spectacular start, this is no longer some run-of-the-mill tiff over who's filming what or how pumped up the footballs are.

A few short days ago, I thought it was ludicrous that this situation, embarrassing as it potentially was, would have the potential to claim Vrabel's job. Now I'm not so sure. And the odds are changing with every passing minute.

Even in the wake of its decades-long transformation from doormat to dynasty, the New England Patriots remain a franchise that finds it all too easy to flirt with disaster at the drop of a hat. 

I have always believed that most of life's questions can be answered through the dialogue in Parts 1 and 2 of "The Godfather," but in this instance, I need to cite the most unpopular entry in the trilogy of Francis Ford Coppola's crowning cinematic achievement. I quote Michael Corleone from GF 3:

"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!!!!"

Back in the maelstrom, indeed.

MARK FARINELLA, who is happier about his retirement today than he was just yesterday, now concedes that the 2026 season is likely to be a lost cause for the Patriots. Feel free to debate him at theownersbox2020@gmail.com.