It's clearly a vendetta ... but who is the real target?

The New York Post has wasted no effort to highlight Mike Vrabel's problems.

For some time now, I have believed that the whole controversy surrounding the relationship between Patriots' coach Mike Vrabel and former New York Times NFL reporter Dianna Russini has been targeted strictly against Ms. Russini -- most likely a quest for retribution by her current husband over her alleged infidelities (yes, supposedly plural), and Vrabel has simply been the current source of damning evidence.

But now, I'm wondering -- is Russini really the target, or has someone with purpose been targeting Vrabel all along?

The reason why I am wondering that is in recent days, more sensational information has been revealed from Vrabel's past that involves issues other than his long-term relationship with Russini -- which, as we all know now, extended well before either's present-day circumstance -- Vrabel an embarrassed and embattled head coach coping with sudden family disruption, and Russini unemployed after resigning her job while still protesting her innocence.

Whereas the most we saw at the start were the photos of recent vintage taken of Vrabel and Russini at poolside at a ritzy Sedona, Ariz., resort, that evidence has expanded to include photos snapped by unknown sources of Vrabel and Russini cuddling up at a New York City bar in 2020, and photos of the two together inside a casino around the time that Vrabel was fired by the Tennessee Titans in 2023.

It's widely presumed that the Arizona photos were taken by a private investigator in long-distance concealment, likely hired by Russini's husband of six years to provide proof of her infidelity. But who took all these other photos at various times this decade? And how are they coming to light just now?

Then today, another tidbit of news hit the wires. An article from ESPN's website from April 4, 2011, has been plucked from the mists of history to reveal that Vrabel had been arrested (while he was still a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs) at a casino in Florence, Ind., on a Class D felony charge -- the lowest level of felony offenses in Indiana -- for taking bottles of alcoholic beverages from a deli without paying for them.

"It was an unfortunate misunderstanding, and I take full responsibility for the miscommunication," Vrabel, who was 35 years old at the time, told ProFootballTalk.com in a statement through his agent, Neil Cornrich. "I feel comfortable that after talking with the appropriate parties, we will resolve this matter."

And thus it was resolved; the Indiana court issued a diversion agreement in which Vrabel's record would be purged if he stayed out of trouble for 180 days. He did.

Mike Vrabel's public statements have not helped.

So what possible reason is there for this to be dredged up now? And what's next? God forbid that he may have pantsed some poor kid in the high school cafeteria back at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. TMZ or the New York Post will be all over it.

These are not good times for Vrabel, that's for sure. His relationship with Russini has been a DEFCON-1 national controversy for several news cycles now, and he has not been helping himself any with his public pronouncements.

Vrabel is probably experiencing a shitshow on the homefront as the evidence of his interest in Russini mounts on a daily basis, and clearly indicates a lengthy involvement -- none of which could be pleasing news to his wife of 26 years, Jen. He has addressed the media twice since it became obvious that he was less than truthful in his initial pronouncement that the photos of him and Russini were proof of nothing but a platonic friendship. And both times, Vrabel's efforts to sound earnest and contrite have fallen short.

I watched his most recent public appearance, which came about a half-hour before the NFL Draft began on Thursday night. He stood before the assembled local media inside the Patriots' new headquarters building and gave a brief statement, then took five questions. Very little of what he said was different than what he said the first time, other than to add a little context to his decision to skip the final day of the draft on Saturday. He said he would be with his family because his family needed him, and he could not guarantee that there would not be other family-related absences from team responsibilities going forward.

Vrabel looked like a beaten man -- certainly not the dynamic image he projected while leading the Patriots to a totally unexpected berth in a Super Bowl in his first year as head coach. It certainly is concerning to those that see outside influences eroding the foundations of Fortress Foxboro in a way no one has witnessed since the 1980s.

It's as if the Patriots' media relations department, which was so accomplished at deflecting multiple controversies since the turn of the century, has been replaced by amateurs.

Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson are stylin'.

Case in point -- Bill Belichick went through three women in the course of his 24 years as head coach. He divorced his wife, Debby, the mother of his three children, and almost immediately took up with social butterfly Linda Holliday. For many years, Ms. Holliday did her best to promote herself and Belichick as New England's latest and greatest power couple. But Bill's interests apparently wandered at some point, and soon enough, Linda was out and 20-something Jordon Hudson was in. Bill wasn't married to either one of them -- which might mean something to the Bible-thumpers among the readership, but I'm in the "let he who is without sin cast the first stone" category on this one. 

And why weren't Belichick's off-the-field exploits big stories until he left the team? Because he didn't talk about his personal life. Whatever went on behind Belichick's closed doors hardly ever became part of the public discourse because he and his handlers simply would not allow it. 

I can't speak for Vrabel, but his motivation to talk to the media (if vaguely and guardedly) about this controversy may be an admission that his hand was caught in the cookie jar, and he thinks he needs to be as accountable as he can be because he has preached that to his athletes. Perhaps that's laudable, but now he needs the team's damage-control crew to shake off the rust, step in and convince him that enough is enough. 

Someone is masterminding this assault, and I'm convinced it's not just against Dianna Russini. Let's put it this way -- so far, it's been so successful on multiple fronts that it's making the United States military's conduct of the conflict with Iran look like a playground scuffle by comparison. 

If the Patriots truly value the continued presence of Mike Vrabel as their head coach, it's time for them to put a lid on his commentary about the controversy regardless of what new and seemingly unrelated revelations may follow. Someone wants Vrabel to look very bad, and even if he has provided some of the ammunition, a steel-belted media strategy by the Patriots can deflect it.

Otherwise, it may be time for Josh McDaniels to dust off the files from his past head-coaching tenures, and prepare to be called to active duty.

MARK FARINELLA is having flashbacks to Spygate, Deflategate, Aaron Hernandez, the Orchids of Asia and whatever else has gone wrong in the past 26 years. Fortunately, there's a limit to how much he needs to care about it all. Contact him at theownersbox2020@gmail.com.