Aaron Glenn turns down one head coaching interview, and it makes total sense

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has become one of the most coveted candidates of the 2025 head coach carousel. Nearly every team has requested an interview with the player-turned-coach, who has spent the past four seasons on the Lions staff alongside head coach Dan Campbell.

Detroit suffered a slew of defensive injuries throughout the 2024 season. Since the start of training camp, the Lions have placed 13 defensive players on the injured reserve list, including star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. The injuries forced Detroit to assemble a defensive unit with midseason additions, but Glenn's patchwork defense still finished as the seventh-best scoring unit. They also generated the fifth-most interceptions (16) and allowed the second-fewest passing touchdowns (16) despite facing the third-most passing attempts (610).

Detroit improved to a 15-2 record and clinched the NFC's No. 1 seed with a dominant 31-9 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18. Since then, Glenn and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson have spoken with several teams regarding their head coaching vacancies.

Glenn has five interviews scheduled, beginning with the New York Jets on Thursday, but he refused an interview request from one team in particular.

Aaron Glenn declined Patriots head coaching interview

The New England Patriots requested an interview with Glenn after parting ways with one-year head coach Jerod Mayo, but Glenn declined the interview request, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

The Patriots began their head coach search by interviewing Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton, which stirred accusations that the team was simply getting formalities out of the way by attempting to fulfill the NFL's Rooney Rule. New England's request to interview Glenn was seen across the league as a "cover your ass maneuver" by the Patriots, Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal reported.

"We know how sensitive Robert [Kraft] is," a source told Giardi. "This also wouldn’t be the first time the league office told a team to slow things down, even if they end up with the same result."

The Patriots are expected to hire former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. The former linebacker played a pivotal role in the Patriots dynasty during his playing career, and he was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2023.

At this stage, it seems inevitable that the Patriots' head coaching change will simply swap out one former linebacker for another.