Tag: Aaron Glenn

How former Saints head coach candidates Doug Pederson, Eric Bieniemy are doing

The Saints met with a lot of head coach candidates before setting on Dennis Allen. How are guys like Doug Pederson, Eric Bieniemy, and Brian Flores doing?

It hasn’t taken two months for New Orleans Saints fans to begin doubting whether their team hired the right head coach. Dennis Allen’s squad has stumbled out of the gates to a 2-5 start, falling behind the 3-4 records his old Raiders teams achieved in each of his first two seasons back in the day. Everyone from Sean Payton to Mickey Loomis and Allen himself said that he was walking into a perfect situation to compete with a strong roster, but he won more games with some of the worst Raiders rosters we’ve seen in recent memory.

So it’s fair to question whether Allen is the right man for the job. The Saints at least put up appearances for an in-depth hiring search, having met with a number of qualified candidates, only to settle for Allen instead — preaching the continuity he would maintain from Payton’s tenure. Instead, it’s looked like that continuity was mistaken for complacency.

But we’re losing the track here. The story here isn’t about Allen’s struggles (of which we’ve discussed at length), it’s taking stock of the other coaches New Orleans interviewed for the job before deciding they already had a better option in the building. Here’s what’s up with coaches like Doug Pederson, Eric Bieniemy, Brian Flores, and other former Saints head coach candidates:

Aaron Glenn gives a great answer when his job security is questioned

Lions DC Aaron Glenn talked about the pressure of being a coach and related a story about a big failure during his playing days

Aaron Glenn is having a rough start to the 2022 season. Detroit’s defensive coordinator is the man in charge of the NFL’s worst defense, one that is getting worse by the week.

The porous defense has led to some calls for Glenn’s removal as defensive coordinator. Earlier in the aftermath of the Week 4 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Detroit head coach Dan Campbell brought up the possibility of making some changes. Campbell later offered a vote of confidence in Glenn, but it hasn’t quelled the calls for his head.

Glenn knows it all comes with the territory of being a coach on a team that isn’t winning enough.

 “Man, I feel pressure just by being a coach,” Glenn said earnestly. “That comes with the job. The one thing I don’t worry about is job security. I’ve been blessed to play this game for a long time and I’ve been blessed to coach it for a long time. And every day I get up, I enjoy doing what I do. I would say this, even though me and Dan (Campbell) are friends, this is a job and I’ll look at it like that too. That I have to perform just like everybody else has to perform, he has to perform, the players have to perform. When things are not going well, you have to answer to that and I’m not a – I’m not blind to the fact of that.”

Later in his press conference, Glenn brought up a situation where he had to overcome personal football failure. He hearkened back to 1997, when he was a high-profile Pro Bowl CB for Bill Parcells’ New York Jets.

“It was in ’97, we were playing against Seattle, damn. And I was matched up against Joey Galloway and that was the first time I ever in my career gave up two touchdowns. They were two bombs. Bill Parcells was the coach and just like as a coach, just like as a player, I mean, when you’re playing well, you’re the hottest thing ever. When you do something bad, I mean you’re the worst thing there is. And so, I understand that.

So, at that point I’ve become a Pro Bowl player to the worst corner that ever played the game. The thing is, man, you just have to go back to your fundamentals and have faith in who you are and what you’ve done and your background and your history tells your story. That one to two plays doesn’t tell your story. That one game doesn’t tell your story. So, I look at this like this, I mean these couple of games it doesn’t tell my story. I mean, my track record speaks for itself and I’m going to continue to let that speak. So, we’re going to get this thing fixed. We’re going to get this thing moving forward. Our guys are going to respond, our coaches are going to respond and things are going to be alright.”

Despiet Glenn’s inspired anecdote and answer, it would be nice to see him write a different story with his defense in the coming games.

3 potential solutions to help fix the Detroit Lions defense

Offering up 3 solutions to help start fixing the Lions defense

The Detroit Lions have a defensive problem. Well, technically it’s a vast collection of problems that could inspire Jay-Z to write a sequel to one of his most famous songs.

It’s hard to come up with a solution to 99 different problems on Aaron Glenn’s failing unit, but we can at least isolate three solutions that will help clean up the NFL’s worst defense.

Dan Campbell: ‘I believe Aaron Glenn is the right man for the job’ running the Lions defense

Detroit head coach Dan Campbell: “I believe Aaron Glenn is the right man for the job” to fix the Lions NFL-worst defense

A day after the Detroit Lions gave up 48 points to the Seattle Seahawks, disappointment in defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is at a fever pitch. The Seahawks did not have to punt once, the first time in their 46-year existence that Seattle has not punted.

Head coach Dan Campbell hinted at some changes during his postgame press conference. However, Glenn’s job status will not be one of those changes. Campbell made that clear during his press conference before Monday’s practice in Allen Park.

“(Glenn) and I are still working through that,” Campbell said when asked about how the league’s worst defense can be fixed.

Campbell did say, “We’re going to need to move some personnel around” without offering any specifics.

As for Glenn, Campbell fielded a question framed around his in-season demotion of offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn last year. Campbell took over the OC job after 10 games and the move worked; Detroit has had one of the NFL’s top offenses since making the tough decision.

“I’m not afraid to make a hard decision if I really believed that’s the cause of it,” Campbell said. “And I don’t believe it is (with Glenn). I believe that Aaron Glenn is the right man for the job. He gives us our best hope, our best option to run this defense.”

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Lions vs. Seahawks: Quick takeaways from Detroit’s Week 4 shootout loss

Quick takeaways on the defensive line, T.J. Hockenson, poor officiating and more from the Lions Week 4 loss

If you’re a fan who likes offensive football, Sunday’s matchup between the Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks was for you. The Seahawks prevailed, 48-45, in a game where both teams topped 500 total yards of offense.

Dismal defense plagues the Lions in high-scoring loss to the Seahawks

There was very little defense played by either team but especially from the home team. Seattle never punted once, the first time in their franchise history they have gone an entire game without one punt. The two teams lit up the Ford Field scoreboard with reckless abandon.

Here’s what I took away from watching the game in real time.

The Lions fans have turned on DC Aaron Glenn after another atrocious defensive half

The Lions fans have turned on DC Aaron Glenn after another atrocious half of defensive football in Week 4

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Earlier this week, Lions defensive coordinator was prominently mentioned as one of the hot potential head coaching candidates in the coming offseason. Based on the dismal performance of Glenn’s Detroit defense in the first half of the Week 4 game against the Seattle Seahawks, that notion seems awfully puzzling.

Detroit entered the game with the NFL’s worst scoring defense, giving up over 31 points per game in the first three weeks. Seattle’s heretofore underwhelming offense darn near matched that total at halftime. Geno Smith and the Seahawks ran and threw at will against Glenn’s defense in the first half.

Lions fans definitely took note of how bad the defense is playing. And they placed the blame squarely on Glenn.

There’s the context for the following tweets…

Several Lions assistants named on list of top head coaching candidates for 2023

Several Lions assistants named on the list of top head coaching candidates for 2023

It hasn’t exactly translated into the desired win totals yet, but Lions head coach Dan Campbell has assembled quite a revered staff around him. Several of Campbell’s underlings were named in the latest list of top potential NFL head coaching candidates for 2023.

The list, compiled by Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated, features four Lions assistants:

  • Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson
  • Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn
  • Assistant head coach/RB coach Duce Staley
  • Offensive line coach Hank Fraley

Glenn and Staley’s inclusions on the list are no surprise. Both have interviewed for head coaching positions and bring considerable experience to the table. Even though the Lions defense ranks last in the league, Glenn remains a hot coaching commodity for his leadership and teaching skills. Staley got hands-on head coaching experience at this year’s Senior Bowl, leading the Lions staff in charge of one of the teams.

Fraley is (finally) getting his due recognition for helping to develop and mold one of the NFL’s best offensive lines. It’s unusual to see his name in this context but not surprising either.

Then there’s Johnson, who is definitely a surprise candidate. The rookie coordinator has taken the league by storm, as Orr notes,

Any time you hear the m-word—“McVay,” that is—thrown around in a conversation about coaches, your ears perk up. Johnson, who is not from the McVay coaching tree but is viewed as an up-and-coming young offensive mind, has carved out a niche as a future offensive trendsetter all on his own. The former walk-on QB at North Carolina broke into the NFL back in 2012 with the Dolphins and has helped the Lions transform into the second-highest-scoring offense in the NFL through three weeks. If there is a surprise name in this cycle, it will be Johnson’s.

One interesting name left off is LBs coach Kelvin Sheppard, who has earned wide praise as well and is often seen as a rising star. DBs coach Aubrey Pleasant is another Lions assistant who could earn a bigger title this coming offseason, too.

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Aaron Glenn looking for more from ‘still improving’ LB Julian Okwara

Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn looking for more from ‘still improving’ LB Julian Okwara after No. 99 created a lot of pressure in his Week 2 debut

Julian Okwara made his 2022 debut in Week 2. The Lions EDGE made his presence felt in the win over Washington, creating several pressures on Commanders QB Carson Wentz in limited reps.

Okwara had some issues finishing those pressures, whiffing on two separate potential sacks of Wentz, but the ability to win around the edge was obvious. It’s something Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn hopes — no, expects – to see more of from No. 99. Glenn is excited by what Okwara offers as a speed rusher.

“Well, JO (Okwara) is a fastball for us, especially off the edge. So, we try to utilize him in those situations as much as we can. Obviously, last year he had one of his – if not his best year. We’re looking for him to actually have a better year this year because we know what he can do now. So, it’s just to us as coaches to make sure we continue to put him in a situation where he can be successful.

Glenn continued, noting Okwara still might not be 100 percent recovered from the hamstring injury that kept him out almost all of training camp.

“It’s good to have him back, he still, he’s still improving. He’s still coming off that injury. It usually takes a while when you come off a hamstring. So, really looking forward to see how he’s going to operate this week going into the year. So, but I think that guy’s going to have a good year.”

Keeping Okwara on the field to make an impact has been the biggest holdup to the improvement. Okwara has been healthy for just 20 games in two-plus seasons, on the field for under 475 snaps. He logged 27 total tackles and five sacks in 13 games in 2021.

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Lions DC Aaron Glenn breaks down the CB battle between Jeff Okudah and Will Harris

Aaron Glenn breaks down the CB battle between Jeff Okudah and Will Harris, noting that both will have big roles

One of the few starting position roster battles in Detroit Lions training camp is for the outside CB role opposite Amani Oruwariye. Jeff Okudah and Will Harris have gone back and forth all offseason trying to secure the gig.

The man primarily responsible for making the decision is Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. He still hasn’t made up his mind, but Glenn feels very good about both Okudah and Harris entering the final game of the preseason and conclusion of camp.

“I do like the battle. I would say this, and man, I’m not just saying this just to be saying it, but both of those guys have been showing some really good things on the field, in practice and in games,” Glenn said before Tuesday night’s practice.

Coach Glenn continued,

“This is an ongoing battle and it will be an ongoing battle. Man, I wish I could sit here and tell you exactly when we can say, ‘OK, here’s the stamp. Here’s the guy that’s going to be the starter.’ But I will say this, both of those guys will have a role within our defense and we’re going to try to do everything we can to make sure that we put those guys in a situation where they’re going to be successful. So, they’ve been doing a good job.”

Okudah got the starting nod in the second preseason game, though both he and Harris played 16 snaps in the game. In Tuesday’s practice–the final padded practice of camp–Okudah again took the first 1st-team reps outside. Harris also had some run with the starters and there were some sets where both Okudah and Harris were on the field with the ones and Oruwariye sitting.

It’s abundantly clear both Okudah and Harris are going to play significant roles at cornerback, as Glenn noted. Harris looks comfortable and confident as he transitions from safety to outside CB, a move that began late last season. Harris has excelled in red zone drills. Okudah appears faster than ever and continues to (mostly) impress with his awareness in coverage and run defense.

Okudah has sprinkled in some reps at slot CB, where starter AJ Parker is less secure at his position than either Okudah or Harris are outside. Veteran newcomer Mike Hughes has been used primarily outside and has performed better there than inside throughout camp. Rookie seventh-rounder Chase Lucas is also in the mix inside but not outside. Second-year Jerry Jacobs, the team’s most reliable coverage man in 2021, is poised to return from December knee surgery soon and has been working on learning the slot position.

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Watch: Former Eagles’ RB coach Duce Staley featured in debut of Hard Knocks

Former Eagles RB and current Lions Assistant head coach Duce Staley and Detroit DC Aaron Glenn open up HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ with an intense trash talk session during training camp

The Eagles have avoided appearing on HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ series, but a familiar name for the franchise will be making his debut.

The Detroit Lions were tabbed for the training camp portion of the hit series, and former Philadelphia 2nd round pick, Duce Staley, is the star of episode 1.

Staley, Detroit’s assistant head coach/running backs coach, and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, have spirited trash-talking sessions back and forth that head coach Dan Campbell openly welcomes.

The five-episode season debuts tonight, Tuesday, August 9 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET), with additional hour-long episodes debuting on subsequent Tuesdays simultaneously, culminating in the September 6 season finale.

Detroit will host Philadelphia on Sunday, September 11, in the season opener for both teams.

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