Bears biggest competition for Ben Johnson looks ready to go in another direction

With the regular season over with and the playoffs about to begin, a total of six teams are searching for their next head coach after opting to part ways with their current ones. One of those teams is the Chicago Bears, who fired Matt Eberflus on the day after Thanksgiving.

While the Bears are casting a wide net for their next head coach, one name that has been prominently linked to the job is Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. It's no surprise that Johnson is one of the most coveted head coaching prospects in the NFL, given his work turning the Lions offense into one of the best in the league. With that, Johnson is receiving interest from multiple teams.

It appears one team is taking themselves out of the running for another candidate.

The New England Patriots are meeting with former player and ex-Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel on Thursday. Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal tweeted out that he asked six league executives what he thought about the Patriots coaching interview "process." The executives all responded with "Vrabel." Giardi also says that it's possible Vrabel could be the new Patriots head coach "before the weekend."

Patriots could be pivoting away from Ben Johnson for Mike Vrabel as next head coach

This is far from shocking. Vrabel was linked to the Patriots head coaching job last year before the team moved on from Bill Belichick as head coach. In fact, he was described as a "dream candidate" for team owner Robert Kraft. Despite this, Kraft hired Mayo as part of the Belichick succession plan. But after a 4-13 season, Kraft fired Mayo. Now, he has the chance to hire the three-time Super Bowl champion as a linebacker for the Patriots, and the 2021 NFL Coach of the Year.

Even though the Patriots might be out of the running based on that information, Johnson still has other teams interested besides the Bears. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who have been linked to Johnson late this season, are scheduled to meet with the assistant. Additionally, the Las Vegas Raiders requested to meet with Johnson for their head coaching vacancy.

While the Bears are interviewing Johnson, they are also set to speak with Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. Other interview requests include Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, and former Stanford head coach David Shaw.

By the sounds of it, the Bears may have one less suitor for the Lions offensive coordinator based on the intel out of New England.