With Aaron Glenn removing his name from consideration, four candidates remain in the race to become Patriots head coach.
When Aaron Glenn declined their request to a virtual interview, the New England Patriots were left with only four candidates for their open head coaching position. However, a look at who has been tied to the job shows that it might very well come down to two names.
The next head coach of the Patriots is likely to be either Mike Vrabel or Ben Johnson.
Vrabel and Johnson are arguably the two most prominent names on the market right now. The Patriots pursuing either of them therefore makes perfect sense, and neither would come out of left field if hired.
Vrabel is a three-time Super Bowl champion and member of the franchise’s Hall of Fame, who appeared in a combined 142 games for the team over an eight-year stint in New England; he later embarked on a coaching career, including a six-year tenure as head coach of the Tennessee Titans. Johnson is one of the most creative and successful assistant coaches in the NFL, whose work as offensive coordinator has helped the Detroit Lions turn into a serious Super Bowl contender.
From the outside looking in, the Patriots’ decision — which is expected to be made fairly quickly — will come down to one or the other. Who the four-member search committee will eventually select remains unclear, even though Vrabel is considered the frontrunner at the moment.
What about the other two candidates who also interviewed, though? Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich both have had success in their coaching careers, but neither has been employed by an NFL team since the end of the 2022 season.
Their interviews seemingly were a means to an end, helping the Patriots satisfy the Rooney Rule that requires two in-person meetings with minority candidates. While the rule as currently written and enforced invites such “token interviews,” labeling them as such may be an oversimplification.
The Patriots hiring either Hamilton or Leftwich in some capacity could still be in the cards. However, the odds of one of them becoming the team’s next head coach are fairly low.
Would the same have been true for Aaron Glenn? Possibly, and he may have had the same view regarding his chances at the position.
Regardless, the fact that he no longer is in the race clearly points toward one scenario: it’s all about Mike Vrabel and Ben Johnson now.