There was much speculation leading into Sunday's Patriots season finale game against the Bills regarding Jerod Mayo's future as head coach. Plenty of rumors suggested either scenario could become his reality, but it didn't take long for Robert Kraft to decide to fire the former linebacker after the team added the fourth win of the season.
That put the Patriots, along with the Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, and New York Jets, in the mix for another head coach search. Some argued that New England was the primary spot for anyone looking to grow their career in that role. And for the most part, that is likely true, given they have a solid quarterback in Drake Maye, the fourth overall pick in the upcoming draft, and a projected league-high cap space to spend in free agency.
It is expected that the Krafts will conduct their first real search for a new head coach in over 25 years, something they opted not to do when promoting Mayo last year.
The expectation is that Mike Vrabel will be the first to make his way to Foxboro for an interview, but the organization is making more of the right moves by officially requesting to interview Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, the most hyped candidate for the past few cycles.
Source: The Patriots have put in a request to interview Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for their head coaching job.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 6, 2025
The Patriots start the head coach search off strong by inviting the top offensive-minded candidate for an interview
Although Vrabel has become the presumed favorite for the job, inviting Johnson in for an interview is one of the best things the Patriots can do now.
While it would likely be safer to go with the guy you know who played most of his career in New England and has experience as a head coach, it's hard to argue against seriously looking into a guy like Johnson, who has drastically turned around the Lions offense since becoming their play caller in 2022.
Johnson is entirely different from some of the other names mentioned as potential prospects for the team, especially in recent history, since he is an offensive-minded coach, and the Patriots have long-tenured defensive first coaches. That could play a role in the hiring process due to the importance of properly developing Maye, but we'll have to see if Kraft will be serious with his interviewing process instead of just forcing it publicly to hire Vrabel at the end.
That might be the biggest concern going into this offseason, and his recent track record doesn't provide much optimism that he hasn't already made his mind up about Vrabel. Given the rumors that he and Mayo were backchanneling his promotion throughout the 2023 season, there are rumors that this has been happening with Vrabel, as well.
Because of the seriousness of hiring the right coach this time, the hope is Kraft won't repeat what he's done in the past and properly go about this process the right way.
Update:
NFL insiders reveal Johnson will interview with the Patriots during the Lions bye week.
#Lions OC Ben Johnson will interview for the #Patriots and #Bears head coaching jobs during this week’s bye — a sign he has real interest in both jobs. @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/tDzqcyl9rz
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 6, 2025