Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn will interview with each team with a head coaching vacancy. Except one.
According to multiple reports, Glenn declined an invitation to interview with the Patriots.
The Patriots requested permission to interview Glenn two days after asking permission to interview Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson — and a day later, many criticized the Patriots for potentially circumventing the spirit of the Rooney Rule by quickly signing Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton, who is currently not affiliated with any NFL team and could therefore be interviewed in person right away.
It’s all part of what many see as an accelerated effort to hire former Titans coach Mike Vrabel.
To be clear, the Patriots absolutely complied with the Rooney Rule. Wednesday’s request for Glenn gave the impression that the Patriots were attempting to overcomply – either after hearing the outside criticism or (possibly) after hearing directly from the league office that it appeared to be a non- genuine attempt to ensure compliance with the rule. that two minority candidates be interviewed in person.
The fact that Glenn said “no thanks” essentially allows the Patrios to make a deal with Vrabel if they so choose. If they do, however, it will provide more ammunition for those who argue that the process was not about conducting an open and inclusive search, but about checking boxes to earn the rent they may have already decided to do .
That said, the Rooney Rule only requires interviews. It does not require that the minority candidates be currently employed by another team. (Maybe it should.) There was no violation of the letter of the rule.
And the interviews with Leftwich and Hamilton had an additional benefit. It has reintroduced their names into the current hiring cycle, which could put them on the radar for teams that will inevitably make new hires.
Consider this story that Broncos coach Sean Payton shared Wednesday about the decidedly unscientific way coaches find their names in the broader mix of jobs.
“It’s not a big community,” Payton told reporters. “I was in New Orleans and Andy Reid called from Philadelphia. They asked permission to visit Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator. Dennis coached the secondary for us. Of course I said yes, and I talked to the district attorney and he went Now, to arrange an interview. [former Panthers and Broncos] John Fox and I are good friends. We worked together for four years at the Giants, but there was a little bit of this: Word got out that Dennis is going to interview in Philadelphia. So a week later Foxy calls me and in his gravelly voice he says, “Hey, I want to talk to the DA about the defensive coordinator position.” I said, ‘Foxy, I’m good at that.’ I said, ‘You can’t pick him out of a lineup now.'”
Both Leftwich and Hamilton have worked in the NFL as offensive coordinators. Leftwich won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in 2020, and Hamilton has helped develop the likes of Andrew Luck and Justin Herbert.
If one or both ultimately convert their interviews with the Patriots into assistant coaching positions in the NFL, that’s a win for them.
