Aaron Glenn turns down Patriots' request for head coach interview
FOXBORO -- Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has turned down a request from the New England Patriots to interview for the team's head coaching job. He'll interview with every other NFL team that is looking for new head coach, but not with the Patriots.
Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network was first to report that Glenn turned down the New England's request on Thursday.
It's unclear why Glenn turned down the Patriots, but there are a few theories floating around. One is that Glenn is a busy man this week. He interviewed with the New York Jets on Thursday, and has interviews with the New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders on Friday, and the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears on Sunday. All of those will be done virtually, because the Lions are a playoff team. Detroit gave its coordinators a Thursday-Sunday window to interview with teams.
The other theory is that Glenn doesn't think he has a realistic chance at the New England job.
Patriots head-coaching interviews
Why doesn't Glenn think he has a shot? Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel -- who won three Super Bowls with the Patriots during his playing career -- is seen as the favorite to land the job. Vrabel interviewed with the Patriots on Thursday. He and the Patriots didn't agree to a contract on Thursday, but that could happen in the near future.
The Patriots will also conduct a virtual interview with Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson on Friday. He'll be the fourth candidate interviewed, after the team also spoke with former offensive coordinators Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton on Tuesday.
The Leftwich and Hamilton interviews have been criticized as a way for New England to meet the NFL's Rooney Rule requirements to interview minority candidates and clear a path for the Patriots to quickly hire a head coach. Some saw the late request to interview Glenn -- which was submitted Wednesday, two days after the team requested an interview with Johnson -- as a way of over-complying with the rule to fight back against any outside criticism.
The Patriots do not have any other head-coaching interviews scheduled after Friday's interview with Johnson.
