The Los Angeles Chargers are maintaining their reputation for pulling no punches with their schedule release videos.
This time, the Chargers took a subtle jab at Mike Vrabel amid scrutiny the New England Patriots coach continues to face about his relationship with Dianna Russini, a former NFL reporter for The Athletic.
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The Chargers – who made their 2026 schedule release video in the popular video game “Halo” – included a message icon in the bottom-right corner of the segment announcing their Week 12 matchup with the Patriots.
It simply read “NYPost sent you a message,” as seen just after the 3:45 mark of the video posted to the Chargers’ social media accounts.
The New York Post was the outlet that originally published pictures of Vrabel and Russini spending time together at an Arizona resort. Vrabel initially downplayed the significance of the photos, referring to speculation about them as “laughable” before changing his tune and acknowledging “difficult conversations” he had in the aftermath of the photos being published.
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Vrabel briefly stepped away from the Patriots on Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft to seek counseling but was back in the office the following Monday, April 27. The team has stood by the 50-year-old coach, who led them to a Super Bowl 60 appearance in his first season, even as more photos of interactions between Vrabel and Russini have surfaced.
OPINION: Mike Vrabel found the perfect fit with Patriots, who can’t be embarrassed
Vrabel was expected to be the butt of some schedule release jokes because of the scandal, and it’s no surprise that the Chargers were the team to target him. Los Angeles has frequently taken shots at its opponents with its schedule release in recent seasons.
Among their most notable? The Chargers posted the number to a gambling crisis hotline in announcing their 2023 matchup with the Detroit Lions after Jameson Williams and several other Lions players were suspended for violating the NFL’s gambling policy.
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A year later, the Chargers took a jab at Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker in the end credits of their video. They depicted him working in a kitchen in a nod a controversial commencement speech he gave at Benedictine College.
And in 2025, the Chargers poked fun at Sauce Gardner saying that “out of respect” for Josh Allen, he would not be seeing the movie “Sinners,” which features an intimate scene involving Allen’s wife, Hailee Steinfeld.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mike Vrabel, Dianna Russini referenced in Chargers NFL schedule video
