The search for the 16th head coach of the Patriots has begun in earnest after chairman and CEO Robert Kraft's decision to move on from Jerod Mayo following the 2024 season.
Before we discuss potential candidates, here is a brief explainer of the hiring process that New England will undergo to find its next head coach. First, teams can begin interviewing candidates not employed by other teams immediately. However, teams can only conduct virtual interviews with candidates from teams out of the playoffs. For coaches participating in the postseason, candidates with a first-round bye can interview virtually this week. Candidates coaching in the wild-card round can virtually interview three days after the team's wild-card game.
Most importantly, in-person interviews with candidates currently employed by other teams cannot begin until the day after the NFL's divisional round. Teams with head coaching openings must also abide by the Rooney Rule, the league's policy requiring teams to conduct in-person interviews with at least two external minority candidates. Once the Patriots fulfill those obligations, they can make a hire.
Now, let's get into the top candidates to be the Patriots next head coach. According to reports, former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson are the top candidates. Due to those two being hot commodities, New England has to move fast, which they reportedly have by putting in an interview request to discuss the position virtually with Johnson while Detroit has its first-round bye in the 2024 playoffs. Vrabel is also reportedly set to interview for the job this week. On Tuesday, the Patriots announced they've conducted interviews with longtime NFL assistant Pep Hamilton and former Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich.
Along with Vrabel and Johnson, here are the top candidates to become the Patriots next head coach.
Mike Vrabel (Recent Jobs: Coaching Consult with Browns, Titans Head Coach)
The Patriots Hall of Famer is the most obvious candidate to be New England's next head coach. After winning three Super Bowls in eight seasons as a Patriots player, Vrabel made the transition into coaching at his Alma mater, Ohio State, back in 2011. The 49-year-old got back into the league with Houston before he was hired by Tennessee as its head coach, serving as Titans coach for six seasons (2018-2023). Vrabel led the Titans to three playoff berths and a run to the AFC Championship Game in the 2019 season. Overall, Vrabel was 54-45 as Titans coach.
Vrabel will instill a winning culture and has the experience to be a CEO coach. Although his background is on defense, Vrabel is well known for being able to coach every position on the roster, and he spent the 2024 season learning more about offense under Browns coach Kevin Stefanski. Vrabel is a culture builder and has likely been putting out fliers for his staff over the past year. For example, Vrabel was spotted as a coaching free agent at the Senior Bowl last January, likely networking with NFL execs and coaches to plan for his next stop.
Surely, he already has plans for his coordinator hires, which Vrabel will likely share with teams in the interview process. Still, who Vrabel hires as his offensive coordinator will be crucial to his candidacy. Vrabel himself is not coming in to call offensive plays, so who he tabs as his OC will be responsible for designing the offense and developing second-year QB Drake Maye. That, obviously, is a huge role in the organization moving forward.
Vrabel is a very appealing turn-key candidate with a proven track record of success in the NFL. It would be hard to argue with this hire.
Ben Johnson (Current Job: Lions Offensive Coordinator)
As a top candidate for the last three cycles, the Patriots will reportedly conduct a virtual interview with Johnson. However, an in-person interview will need to wait until after the divisional round. Johnson is one of the brightest offensive minds in football. Last offseason, he was extremely close to taking the job in Washington but decided to return as Detroit's offensive coordinator for a third season. In those three seasons, the Lions ranked third, fifth, and seventh in DVOA on offense, with Johnson running that side of the ball for head coach Dan Campbell.
If the Patriots hire Johnson, they're hiring him to be the next Kyle Shanahan or Sean McVay. He's coming in as the offensive architect and play-caller, working with second-year QB Drake Maye to bring a highly successful system from Detroit to New England. The Lions scheme is built around an exotic run game, play-action, motion/formational spacing, and of course, trickery. From this perspective, building out the offensive line, speed at the skill positions, and adapting under-center elements to Maye are keys.
Although he's a strong candidate, there are unknowns about Johnson as a culture builder and who will be his defensive coordinator. Johnson, age 38, is a first-time head coach. He has an excellent offense, but he'll need experience around him, especially on defense. When the Rams hired him, McVay's first DC was Wade Phillips, who had been coaching since 1981 and was a former head coach. A veteran defensive coordinator in a similar mold to Phillips would make sense for Johnson.
The Lions offensive coordinator has waited patiently for the right job until he was completely prepared to be a head coach. Johnson is touted as the next great offensive guru in the Shanahan, LaFleur, McVay, and O'Connell mold, and that's highly appealing to the Patriots.
Brian Flores (Current Job: Vikings Defensive Coordinator)
Although there are complications with his ongoing lawsuit against the NFL, Flores is undoubtedly one of the best candidates in this year's coaching cycle. From a schematic standpoint, Flores, for my money, is the top candidate specializing in defense.
After rising through football operations with the Patriots from 2004 to 2018, Flores went from New England's defensive play-caller in their last Super Bowl victory to Dolphins head coach for three seasons (2019-2021). Flores went 24-25 as Dolphins coach with zero playoff appearances and was let go amidst rumblings that he was clashing with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, ownership, and front-office personnel. After a one-year stint in Pittsburgh, Flores spent the last two seasons successfully coordinating the Vikings defense. This season, Minnesota ranks second in the league on defense under Flores with a 14-3 record.
The former Patriots assistant runs an aggressive defensive scheme, with the third-highest cover zero rate (7.5%) and heavy amounts of disguised pressure. Flores is also among the pioneers who brought six-man zone pressures to the pro game, toggling between bluffing all-out pressure and bringing the house while also simulating pressure to cause chaos.
For Flores, this would be his second crack at being a head coach. However, he's to defensive innovation as many of these bright offensive minds are to coveted architects on offense. On Tuesday, Flores told reporters he would be interviewing for head coaching vacancies and would be interested in the Patriots job. Now, the question is, are the Patriots interested in him?
Joe Brady (Current Job: Bills Offensive Coordinator)
Another popular offensive-minded coach that's gaining traction this cycle is the 35-year-old offensive coordinator for the Bills. Brady first emerged on the coaching scene when he was credited for many design elements in the 2019 national champion LSU offense that featured Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Justin Jefferson. Before that, Brady coached two seasons with the Saints as an offensive assistant, making the jump back into the NFL after a one-year stint in Baton Rouge. Brady coordinated the Panthers offense for two seasons, and when the Matt Rhule regime failed, he landed on his feet in Buffalo, where he eventually got promoted to OC.
Since being promoted mid-season in 2023, the Bills offense has soared under Brady. Buffalo is now the second-ranked offense in DVOA with an MVP front-runner in QB Josh Allen. Although it helps to have Allen, Brady's play designs are some of the best in football. He leverages Allen's elite physical traits perfectly, bringing balance to Buffalo's offense by using Allen as a rushing threat and building a gun-action/RPO early-down passing game off those run actions. With a second-year QB that many compare to Allen, it would be intriguing to see Brady install a similar system for Drake Maye in New England.
Ultimately, it might be a year or two too early for Brady to make the jump to head coach at age 35. However, he's garnering plenty of interest because every team is searching for talented offensive minds, and Brady fits the mold. He'll eventually get his shot to be a head coach.
Aaron Glenn (Current Job: Lions Defensive Coordinator)
As the coordinator on the other side of the ball for the Lions, Glenn has many qualities that are as compelling as Johnson's resume. This season, the Lions DC has held their defense together through a rash of injuries, including to key players like Pro Bowler Aidan Hutchinson. Despite losing some of its best players, Detroit's defense is fifth in DVOA this season, a testament to Glenn's schematic chops and ability to prepare the players on his side of the ball.
On film, the Lions fly around on defense. They're also the only defense in the league that played man coverage at a higher rate than the Patriots in 2024 (47.7%). Glenn could get New England's defense back on track, while his ability to keep Detroit's defense afloat speaks to the type of culture he's helping build alongside Campbell and Johnson.
Kliff Kingsbury (Current Job: Commanders Offensive Coordinator)
The obvious connection between the Patriots and Kingsbury is that former coach Bill Belichick drafted the former NFL quarterback in 2003. Kingsbury only spent one full season in New England. Still, he's a familiar face who could get a second chance at being a head coach after successfully coordinating Commanders QB Jayden Daniels to likely being the Offensive Rookie of the Year with a 12-5 regular-season record.
Kingsbury fizzled out in his first opportunity with the Cardinals, finishing 28-37-1 with one playoff appearance in four seasons as Arizona's head coach. The main reason for that is Kingsbury's offenses would flame out in the second half of the season, a trend that followed him from his head coaching days at Texas Tech (2013-2018). Kingsbury doesn't run a full Air Raid at the NFL level, but he does run a spread system with college elements. Kingsbury's scheme will incorporate designed QB runs, RPOs, and simplified formations to play with speed and to the strengths of dual-threat quarterbacks that are taking over the NFL, like Daniels and Maye.
Last week, Kingsbury said that he's interested in being a head coach again "at some point" but will probably remain patient for the right opportunity since it'll be his last chance to make it work.
Adam Stenavich (Current Job: Packers Offensive Coordinator)
With some involvement in the interview process for EVP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf, Stenavich deserves a mention due to his Packer ties. After playing offensive line in college, the 41-year-old broke into the NFL as an assistant O-Line coach with the 49ers in 2017. He then landed with Shanahan disciple Matt LaFleur in Green Bay, rising to offensive coordinator over the last three seasons, with LaFleur campaigning for him to get head coach interviews this cycle.
Although the Packers HC is the primary play-caller, Stenavich is credited with designing Green Bay's terrific run game and has input on play-calling as well. Green Bay's run-game scheme is one of the best in the NFL, with their use of motion, condensed formations, and a wide variety of counters off their base outside zone schemes to open up rushing lanes. Stenavich might not be the most popular name in the coaching carousel, but he should be getting more buzz.
Todd Monken (Current Job: Ravens Offensive Coordinator)
Although the "it" thing is to hire the young, up-and-coming offensive mastermind, Monken is the most qualified offensive architect and still fits the mold of the offensive innovator. With three separate stints as an NFL offensive coordinator and a three-year run as Georgia's OC, Monken might've coordinated Ravens QB Lamar Jackson to back-to-back MVP seasons, with Baltimore's offense ranking first and fourth in DVOA.
Monken has taken many of the Lamar staple run concepts from Greg Roman's scheme while updating the drop-back passing game to be more pro-style in Jackson's seventh season. You still see things like counter bash and other read-option concepts, but Baltimore isn't just a run-heavy offense that needs to play with a lead, which is a testament to Jackson and Monken adapting a traditional drop-back game for the two-time MVP.
With over 30 years of coaching experience, Monken might finally get his chance to be a head coach at the NFL level this cycle. He certainly has the resume to warrant head coach interviews.
Liam Coen (Current Job: Bucs Offensive Coordinator)
Although his path has been unique, the Warwick, Rhode Island native is on the head coaching track after finding success at every stop along the way. After stints at local colleges like Brown, Rhode Island, UMass, and Maine, Coen broke into the NFL as an assistant coach on Sean McVay's staff for three seasons. He then became the offensive coordinator at the University of Kentucky, returned to the Rams for a one-year stint as McVay's OC, then went back to Kentucky. Now, Coen is directing a Tampa Bay offense that is seventh in DVOA, while QB Baker Mayfield is having a terrific season for the 10-7 Buccaneers (4,500 yards, 41 TDs, 16 INTs).
Coen is an intriguing candidate because he has a good track record with quarterbacks and learned to build his own offense under McVay. When you have that stamp of approval from a coaching darling like McVay, you'll garner interest from teams. The 39-year-old is another up-and-coming candidate who will likely get a shot at being a head coach at some point soon.
Other Notable Candidates
- Former Bucs OC Byron Leftwich - announced interview
- Longtime assistant Pep Hamilton - announced interviewed
- Giants Asst. HC/OC Mike Kafka
- Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver
- Chargers DC Jesse Minter
- Falcons OC Zac Robinson
- Texans OC Bobby Slowik
- Texas HC Steve Sarkisian
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
