Patriots Rejected by Top Coaching Candidate on Thursday

The New England Patriots have been requesting interviews with various coaching candidates after shockingly firing first-year head coach Jerod Mayo. 

The Patriots ended the regular season with a win over the Buffalo Bills, but it wasn’t enough for Mayo to keep his job. Since Mayo’s firing, the Pats have reportedly interviewed Byron Leftwich, Pep Hamilton, and Mike Vrabel for their head coaching vacancy.

Vrabel has been viewed as the proverbial frontrunner for the job, but the Patriots still have to interview Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. New England reportedly requested an interview with Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, but it appears that won’t be taking place.

Patriots News: Lions DC Aaron Glenn Declines HC Interview Request

According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Glenn declined an interview request from the Pats. However, the Lions defensive coordinator will interview for the other five head coaching vacancies over the next few days.

It doesn’t come as a surprise to see Glenn decline the request, especially since the Pats just completed an interview with Vrabel on Thursday. Additionally, Glenn has five other interviews, including one with the New York Jets.

The 52-year-old Glenn had a 15-year career in the NFL as a defensive back and has worked his way up the coaching ranks to become a defensive coordinator with the Lions.

As previously mentioned, since Mayo was fired as head coach, the conversation has been that Vrabel is the favorite for the job and could bring Josh McDaniels back with him to New England to serve as the offensive coordinator.

Outside of the remaining interview with Johnson, we don’t know if the Pats will interview anyone else for the role. However, it’s not a good look when potential head coaching candidates turn down your interview requests, especially with how this season played out.

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