See more of our coverage in your search results.
Opinions were made known in the Simmons household Sunday.
Bill Simmons, founder of the sports pop culture outlet “The Ringer” and known Boston sports fan, wrote down and shared his dad’s comments said throughout the Jaguars’ 35-6 rout of the Patriots on Monday’s episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast.”
The elder Simmons wasn’t shy about laying into quarterback Drake Maye and the offseason Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini drama.
“‘It’s like I’m watching Mac Jones again,’” Simmons started off with his dad’s quotes. “That was an actual quote.”
“‘I think Dianna Russini ruined our season.’ He said that,” Simmons went on.
“‘Should we try [Tommy] Devito?’ Dead serious. And then sadly near the end, he said, he looked at me and he goes, ‘You know, it was so exciting to have a franchise quarterback, even if it was only for one year,’” he concluded.
New England isn’t the same team since its Super Bowl appearance in February as players have come and gone, including Stefon Diggs beingreplaced by A.J. Brown.
Yet the vibes and energy around the team seemingly have had an impact on the field, tracing back to Vrabel’s alleged affair with the former NFL insider.
Simmons went on to say the offseason incident is the starting point for the bad play seen on the field.
“Its tough when you can’t explain what’s going on with your team,” he said. “The Pats in this post-Mike Vrabel Sedona era, the looks sloppy as hell. They look poorly coached and it looks like he has no feel for the team. And I really do think it all starts with that. And the Year From Hell team, which I think we have a bunch of candidates this year, starts with the Vrabel-Russini stuff, goes all the way through … What good thing has happened with the Pats?”
The Russini cloud appears to be growing.
Ben Volin of the Boston Globe pointed to the pair in his column Monday as well, writing “Call it the Dianna Russini Curse. Ever since that offseason incident, the mojo seems to have reversed.”
Simmons had a fan write in about the “Year From Hell” team award, stating the Patriots, Packers, Buccaneers and the Chargers are in the running.
The fan also asked the podcast host: “What extent should we weigh factors like the team coach having an affair with a prominent reporter, starting running back getting arrested for domestic violence [Josh Jacobs], having a washed-up DJ for an offensive coordinator or a quarterback who was great last year but now poops the bed every Sunday?”
In April, Page Six published photos showing Vrabel and Russini, who are both married to other people, holding hands and hugging while at a resort in Arizona in March.
Russini, who has not spoken publicly on the matter, resigned from The Athletic.
Maye hasn’t done the Patriots any favors either.
The 24-year-old, in his third year with New England, has led the team to a bad start to the season with a 1-2 record.
He has only thrown one touchdown in three games and has tallied six interceptions. Maye also has nine fumbles and 10 interceptions in his last seven games, dating back to the start of the 2025-26 playoffs.
“We don’t know what’s going on with our quarterback…” Simmons said. “And some of the worst decision interceptions. It doesn’t seem like he’s practiced with any of the receivers. The plays and the play calling matched with the personnel we have, doesn’t seem to work. We were predicting our plays from the couch, which is always a bad sign.”
“And looking at his press conferences after makes it even worse…” he continued. “He’s basically saying, ‘I’m a mess. I don’t know what’s going on. I can’t, I got to fix this. I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing.’ He’s missing throws that he made for four straight months last year and just doesn’t look comfortable.”
The North Carolina product was the No. 3 overall pick by New England in 2024.
In his rookie year and the Patriots’ first without Bill Belichick in 24 seasons, the team went 4-13 to finish in last place in the division. Vrabel turned things around a year ago, pushing the team to a Super Bowl appearance and a 14-3 season, despite many arguing against the team’s light schedule.
The Patriots travel to Buffalo (3-0) in Week 4.
