Minutes after the Patriots announced that they had completed an interview with one head coach candidate, news broke that another potential candidate had declined New England's interview request.
According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has turned down the opportunity to interview for the Patriots job. He will hold virtual interviews for five other vacancies over the next couple days, during the designated time period for coordinators whose teams have a first-round bye.
The interview that the Patriots did complete on Thursday was for the man widely believed to be the heavy favorite to get the job: Mike Vrabel. The team announced at 5 p.m. that the interview had been completed, and that it had taken place in Boston, not Foxborough.
The only reported interview left on the Patriots' schedule right now is with Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. That interview is scheduled for Friday morning, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The Patriots already interviewed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and longtime NFL assistant coach Pep Hamilton on Tuesday. Both are believed to be longshots to actually get the job. Those two interviews did allow the Patriots to quickly be in compliance with the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview two external minority and/or female candidates for a vacant head coaching job before making a hire.
It's unclear if the Krafts will want to interview anyone else after Johnson, but if not, then they could make their decision and announce the hire soon. If Vrabel is indeed the guy, they may want to make their move and lock him up as quickly as possible before anyone else (hello, Tom Brady and the Las Vegas Raiders) has a chance to win him over.