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Mike Vrabel is facing renewed scrutiny after online attention returned to a Spotify playlist allegedly connected to Dianna Russini.

Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini are facing new questions after an alleged Spotify playlist surfaced online this week.

The Spotify playlist discovered online this week is the latest online detail fueling renewed questions about the public narrative around New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and former The Athletic NFL reporter Dianna Russini. The playlist surfaces as both continue to deny a romantic relationship, and the scrutiny surrounding them shows no sign of letting up.

David Covucci of FOIAball posted screenshots Monday of what appeared to be a Spotify account linked online to Russini.

The account featured a 15-song playlist titled “TURNIN THE PAGE,” reportedly shared with a user named “Mike” on Dec. 19, 2022, according to Larry Brown Sports reporter Grey Papke. That date landed one day after Vrabel’s Tennessee Titans dropped their fourth consecutive game of the season.

Neither Russini nor Vrabel has confirmed the playlist was intended for the Patriots coach. The connection, for now, is circumstantial. But if the playlist was indeed intended for Vrabel, to inspire or comfort him and the Titans after the losing streak, it didn’t work. The Titans went on to lose their final three games of the 2022 season, to finish with a seven-game losing skid.

Online users noticed several songs on the playlist that appeared to match Vrabel’s publicly known music tastes.

Songs on Spotify Playlist Prompt Fresh Speculation

The song selection is what helped push the screenshots into wider national attention. Tracks cited in reports included:

• Beyoncé — “CUFF IT”
• Beyoncé — “BREAK MY SOUL”
• Latto — “Big Energy”
• Sam Hunt — “House Party”
• Papa Roach — “Last Resort”
• Guns N’ Roses — “Welcome to the Jungle”
• Def Leppard — “Photograph”
• KISS — “God of Thunder”
• Van Halen — “Dance the Night Away”
• Red Hot Chili Peppers — “Can’t Stop”
• Styx — “Renegade”

Additional songs were also listed, according to AS USA reporter Jennifer Bubel.

“Renegade” by Styx drew particular attention. The song has been publicly tied to Vrabel’s musical preferences and reportedly appeared in Tennessee Titans training camp playlists during his tenure as head coach. Several other tracks on the list — Def Leppard, Guns N’ Roses and Van Halen — also match that training camp music profile, according to AS USA.

After the playlist went viral, Russini reportedly scrubbed her Spotify account entirely. The “Mike” account was also renamed — to “Tycar,” which according to a TMZ report appears to be a combination of the first names of Vrabel’s two sons, Tyler and Carson. Online commenters noted that renaming an account to a combination of a linked person’s children’s names was not subtle, if it was not a coincidence.

Vrabel, Dianna Russini Timeline: New Playlist Twist

The original flashpoint came April 7, when Page Six published photos of Vrabel and Russini at the Ambiente luxury hotel in Sedona, Arizona, poolside, in a hot tub and on a rooftop deck, fingers intertwined. Both denied traveling there together, claiming they encountered one another separately while each was with a different group.

Russini resigned from The Athletic on April 14, citing the escalating media environment, according to Today. Additional photos later emerged, one from a New York City bar in 2020, another from a Mississippi casino in early 2024. Both appeared to show the two in close settings.

Vrabel addressed the situation publicly ahead of the NFL Draft.

“My previous actions don’t meet the standard that I hold myself to,” he said, per Kevin Stone of New England Football Journal. Vrabel confirmed he sought counseling and skipped Day 3 of the draft to spend time to meet those obligations with his family. The Patriots issued a statement backing him fully.

The playlist may not settle any questions about Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini. Instead, it has opened a new round of scrutiny just weeks after both denied a romantic relationship.