The New England Patriots have been one of the worst teams in the NFL over the last two seasons, but they may still have a chance to hire arguably the top head coach candidate available.
Jerod Mayo was fired on Sunday following his first season as head coach in New England. Immediately after the news surfaced, there was speculation that Patriots owner Robert Kraft will look to bring in Mike Vrabel.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network said Monday that Vrabel is not a “shoo-in” for the New England job. The Patriots plan to conduct a real search, and one candidate who has agreed to interview with them is Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
“I am told Ben Johnson does intend to interview with both the Patriots and the Bears for their head coaching positions this week. He is interested in those jobs,” Pelissero said. “He has been intrigued by the Bears job for some time. Now that the Patriots job — with Drake Maye at quarterback — has become available, that is certainly a possibility to monitor for the Patriots.”
The news is notable given how selective Johnson seemed to be a year ago. He was viewed as one of the top head coach candidates available last offseason as well. Though there was some talk about his monetary demands scaring teams off, Johnson probably could have landed a head coach job. One report claimed there was only one job he wanted and he did not get it.
Johnson may want to go to a team that has a franchise quarterback in place. Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported on Sunday that top coaches think very highly of Drake Maye, so perhaps Johnson is among that group.
If you’re trying to predict where the top coaches will land, look no further than the teams with QB who have the potential to win big. I asked three general managers where they thought Maye would land if he were in this upcoming draft; all three said No. 1 overall.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 5, 2025
Vrabel makes the most sense for the Patriots. He played linebacker in New England for the bulk of his career and won three Super Bowls with the team, so he is viewed as a natural fit. He also has a good relationship with the Kraft family.
Johnson might be the more appealing candidate, however, as building an offense and developing the quarterback will be the priority for the Patriots. Johnson has done that in Detroit.
There is a chance that Johnson could pull a surprising move this offseason, but the Patriots are smart to pursue him.
