Dianna Russini is finally making a comeback to sports media after a tough, controversial exit.

According to Pro Football Talk, a source familiar with the situation said Russini has started informing people around the league that she plans to return to work next week.

However, it is still unclear where Russini will work, what position she will take up, or what her responsibilities will be.

Back in September, Front Office Sports reported that Russini was “absolutely” planning a comeback to sports media. According to sources, she was already exploring different opportunities to return to the industry.

She was reportedly in talks with several media organizations about possible roles. These included returning as an NFL insider or taking up a job as a commentator or on-air personality. This meant she was considering both NFL reporting and a more general role in sports media.

However, there’s no evidence of which role she’ll take. But this might be her big shot after a messy exit from The Athletic.

She left the organization in April, a week after the New York Post published photos of her with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel at an Arizona resort. The pictures sparked questions about their relationship.

The photos showed them holding hands, hugging, spending time by the pool, and sitting together in a hot tub. The pictures raised questions because both Russini and Vrabel were married to other people.

After the pictures came out, both denied doing anything inappropriate.

“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,” Mike Vrabel said to the New York Post. “This doesn’t deserve any further response.”

Even Dianna Russini explained the entire situation.

“The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day,” Russini said to the Boston Globe.

Steven Ginsberg, her then-editor at The Athletic, also defended her, saying, “These photos are misleading and lack essential context. These were public interactions in front of many people. Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL, and we’re proud to have her at The Athletic.”

But in the end things turned against Russini. The Athletic reviewed Russini’s work and released its findings in early September.

Mike Semel, who led the investigation, wrote, “Russini’s relationship with Vrabel was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards. Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed.”

He further mentioned how Russini waited for two days before mentioning the incident to her editors and managers. This delay also raised questions over her intentions.

“[W]hen first confronted with the photos by The New York Post,” Samel said. “She then told a story to explain the photos that did not align with facts, raising issues of trust.”

The investigation also brought back her old controversies.

Dianna Russini’s other controversies making things tough for her

Dianna Russini was pulled over in Ridgewood, New Jersey, on January 19, 2026, for using her phone while driving. She later claimed on the Stugotz and Company podcast that she FaceTimed an NFL head coach to help her avoid a ticket.

“I FaceTime the head coach,” Russini said before. “I just got pulled over, and I just wanted you to meet my friend, Officer Joe.”

According to Russini, the coach then told the officer, “You should let her go; she’s a good citizen.”

However, body-camera footage showed no such call.

“I’m an NFL reporter, and I just broke that Sean McDermott got fired from the Bills,” Russini told the officer. “That is what I was just sending… It was a work thing, and it was an emergency for what I do.”

She also mentioned Brian Daboll, showed the officer messages from Kevin O’Connell and joked about the Vikings’ quarterback.

The officer eventually let her go with a verbal warning. The incident gained attention after The New York Times featured her account in an investigation into her career and called the alleged attempt to avoid a ticket “unacceptable conduct.” However, the footage later raised questions about the newspaper’s reporting.

Now, after resigning from The Athletic amid the Mike Vrabel controversy and facing further scrutiny over the traffic-stop story, Russini is reportedly preparing to return to sports media.