Patriots

The Lions’ offensive coordinator is attracting a lot of interest as a head coach in this hiring cycle.

Robert Kraft and the Patriots face an important decision.

After a difficult first – and only – season under Jerod Mayo, Kraft decided to fire his former All-Pro linebacker and current head coach. This time, New England is conducting a thorough coaching search.

On Thursday, the Patriots conducted an in-person interview with Mike Vrabel, who many believe is the leading candidate for the New England coaching job. However, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is also a highly touted candidate, and he conducted a virtual interview for the Patriots job on Friday.

Accordingly The athlete‘s Dianna Russini, the interview went “great.” Russini previously stated that she believed the Patriots would seriously consider Johnson for the head coaching role.

Johnson is considered one of the top coaching candidates available and has only accepted interviews with the Patriots and Bears, a sign that he has genuine interest in the New England job.

Drake Maye is probably at the top of the list of reasons why Johnson would be interested in going to Foxborough. Johnson is considered an offensive mastermind and has helped transform Detroit in recent seasons. Jared Goff also revived his career with Johnson as the Lions’ play caller.

Shortly before the virtual interview, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Patriots were “open to being blown away by Johnson in the interview process.” If the interview goes as well as Russini suggested on social media, New England could face a difficult decision.

Another important aspect that plays a large role in this process is how long the Patriots are willing to wait to hire their next coach.

Mike Vrabel is receiving interest from other teams and could be moved elsewhere if New England doesn’t hire him quickly. In contrast, Johnson wouldn’t be able to officially accept the job or even have an in-person interview with the Patriots any time soon.

The NFL has strict rules regarding the interview process, particularly for coaches of playoff teams. If New England wants a continuation with the Lions’ OC, they will essentially have to wait until Detroit is eliminated from the postseason. The only caveat would be if the Lions reach the Super Bowl; In that case, Johnson would be able to interview again during the bye week, but would be cut off from contact again the week before Super Bowl Sunday.

So the question remains: How long are the Krafts willing to wait before getting to work with their future leader? If they care enough about Johnson, they could wait to hire him. However, this carries some risk as Johnson could reject New England in favor of Chicago. At this point, the Patriots could miss both Vrabel and Johnson.

The Patriots currently have no further interviews scheduled for their head coach position, so now is the time for the team to make a decision about its future.