Aaron Glenn’s Sunday night stunner made his best case yet to be the next head coach of the New Orleans Saints. He and his undermanned Detroit Lions defense shut down one of the league’s most exciting offenses, holding the Minnesota Vikings to just nine points — two touchdowns shy of their per-game average.
And he did it without a host of household names. No Aidan Hutchinson, who still ranks among the best pass rushers despite missing most of the year with an injury. Alim McNeil, arguably their best defensive tackle, was out as well. Rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold went down with an injury two-thirds of the way into the game. They signed Marcus Davenport this offseason hoping he could make a difference but he’s been hurt, too. So were linebackers Derrick Barnes and Malcolm Rodriguez. And their top corner, Carlton Davis, was hurt too.
Glenn took that undermanned defense and bet on Sam Darnold folding under pressure, dialing up more blitzes and physical man coverage to slow down Justin Jefferson. Darnold only completed 18 of his 41 passes and Jefferson ended the night with three catches and 54 yards.
Talk about a convincing closing argument. There are good and bad reasons for the Saints to pursue Glenn as their head coach. That he coached under Sean Payton and Dennis Allen and already knows Mickey Loomis isn’t one of them. Neither is the thought that he’d take the job because he’ll let Loomis pick his assistants. That he took a defense with so many backups in the starting lineup and beat the snot out of an MVP-candidate quarterback is a huge point in his favor. Glenn has been doing this all year.
He’d be inheriting a similar situation in New Orleans with a talent-poor roster. He helped Dan Campbell build the Lions from the ground up and that experience makes him an appealing candidate here. That he’s shown he can maximize the talent available to him is really encouraging. We’ll see if Glenn does emerge as a priority target for the Saints, but it’s easy to see why they and so many other teams are so high on him.
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