The NFL needs to be smarter than this. The league has to know that having the New England Patriots travel to play the Seattle Seahawks to open next season is going to put the focus on things other than the game, though reports are surfacing that Week 1 will be Seattle versus New England.
The Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini situation isn't going away.
Worse, it is likely that the speculation about all that has been rumored to have happened between the head coach and the reporter will only grow louder just before the game. Had the league scheduled the Patriots on Sunday of Week 1, not have been as much of a problem. Game 1 of Week 1? Get ready for the chaos.
Seattle Seahawks seem set to face the Mike Vrabel situation head-on in Week 1
Lots could happen before the game, leading all the way up to kickoff. That includes Vrabel stepping down as the coach, maybe claiming that his family needs him more than football does. The league could also choose to discipline the coach for causing a publicity problem, but that seems unlikely.
Russini hasn't really spoken about the situation, at least as far as any potential affair. What wouldn't be shocking is for an interview to drop involving her on 60 Minutes or some other high-end news magazine just days before the opener. The program would know that would be the best time to bring eyes to the screen.
What won't be talked about as much is the Seattle Seahawks, the defending Super Bowl champions, who will be hosting the game on Wednesday, September 9, in primetime. The game should be interesting, especially if the Pats trade for wide receiver AJ Brown after June 1, but many people will be discussing all the off-field drama.
Again, this is the NFL's fault, as far as which team is playing another in the opening week of the season. A more logical choice for the Seahawks would have been the Chicago Bears, another NFC contender with a young and exciting quarterback.
Seattle knew that it wasn't going to play either of the powerhouse NFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. Those teams are playing in Australia the day after the Seahawks are expected to play the Patriots at Lumen Field.
The Arizona Cardinals likely weren't ever part of the conversation. Arizona is a bad team with a terrible quarterback situation and a smaller fanbase than most other NFL teams. They would simply have been sacrificial lambs for the Seahawks to slaughter.
A rematch of Super Bowl opponents doesn't happen often, just a handful of times in NFL history. One of those involved Seattle when they hosted the Denver Broncos to begin the 2014 season. Next season's opener will be different, but for all the wrong reasons.
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