We're just recruiters. We exert pressure where we can and get process breaks from most of our clients, but we're a tiny little company. Everyone gets interviewed.

Nobody wants to eliminate tech job interviews more than I do.

To be fair, regardless of where the lead was sourced, if I was responsible for hiring a new programmer, I would make damn sure I had an interview with them that contained at least a technical portion. It's irresponsible not to, I wouldn't be doing my job. If the new employee turns out to not be able to code their way out of a paper bag, I'm sure I would catch at least some of the flak.

Trust but verify.