The Detroit Lions’ week keeps getting worse. On Saturday, Dec. 18, the Lions, who were favored to win the NFC and advance to the Super Bowl, lost in the divisional round to rookie Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders in what would be easily the biggest upset of the NFL playoffs. Then yesterday their offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson, announced he would be leaving the Lions and taking the Chicago Bears head coaching job. Now today their defensive coordinator announced he will also be leaving for a coaching job. Aaron Glenn is officially the head coach of the New York Jets.
Glenn has been the Lions defensive coordinator for the last four seasons, or for the entirety of Dan Campbell’s coaching era. After a drastic personnel and schematic shift from the Matt Patricia era, Glenn’s aggressive, man-heavy defensive scheme struggled for the first two seasons of his tenure before they brought in the right players. In 2024, he put together a defense that finished seventh in scoring and 20th in yardage despite losing 15 players to injury, including top-tier starters Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeill, Carlton Davis and Alex Anzalone. The Jets are bringing in a defensive ace and also a familiar face.
Glenn actually started his playing career with New York in 1994 and rejoined the Jets as a personnel scout to begin his non-playing career in 2012. He was recognized as a member of the Jets’ All-Time Four Decade Team for his long tenure with the team, and his player-friendly style in Detroit helped Campbell turn the Lions into one of the NFL’s most formidable teams.
Trying to turn around the Jets won’t be an easy task. This will be the third year of the Aaron Rodgers era, and it will be a make or break one for the legend. Everybody believed the return of Rodgers from injury would save the franchise, but it only made them worse. Rodgers is coming off his worst season as a pro; he put up his worst statistical season since he was a rookie, his team only won five total games, and many of his teammates have stated that they are not fond of him and do not want him back next year. That choice will ultimately rest with Glenn. How he handles Rodgers next season will also speak volumes to the rest of the team.
The Lions, on the other hand, will have to decide what they will do with both coordinators gone. Glenn completely revolutionized the Lions’ defense into one of the league’s best. With him gone and many players recovering from injury, there is no telling how the Lions defense will look. They will need to figure it out quickly. Losing a coordinator can destroy a team, so losing both can completely derail them. The Lions are already spiraling after the loss to the Commanders; they cannot afford to let this dark cloud carry into next season. The Lions have been one of the brightest spots in the NFL over the past three seasons, but everybody remembers just how bad it was in Detroit for a decade before Campbell was brought in. Campbell cannot afford to allow them to fall back to the cellar, or he will be the next coach out of Detroit, and it won’t be for a hiring either.
